milk snake

milk snake
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Today's hike: 3 h 40 min | 7 mi | 1.9 mph

I went hiking at Blue Hills Reservation, again. I took the Skyline Trail from the Headquarters Path parking lot to somewhere around Nahanton Hill at intersection marker 3103, and then turned back. On the return trip, instead of returning to the parking lot, I continued on almost to intersection marker 1094 before heading back to the car.

At Nahanton Hill, I was startled by this snake, which was coiled up at one side of the trail. As I fumbled for my camera, it began to slither off away from the trail. But then it nicely decided to head back and cross the trail, giving me a good photo op. It seemed to consider me a nuisance more than anything else. I think it was a milk snake (PDF). The only thing that makes me doubt that is that milk snakes are supposed to be mainly nocturnal. Maybe this one had insomnia.

lincoln woods

lincoln woods
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I went for a short hike late this afternoon, behind the DeCordova Museum. This photo makes it look darker than it actually was. The weather was great, nice and cool.

mattatuck jericho junction

mattatuck jericho junction
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I started my hike on the Mattatuck at Bidwell Hill Rd, and ended it on the Jericho Trail at Echo Lake Rd. This is the spot where the trails intersect.

It was a great day for hiking! Mosquitoes were out, but not too bothersome yet.

leatherman's cave

leatherman's cave
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I went hiking in CT yesterday. This is a view from inside the leatherman's cave, at the junction of Jericho and Mattatuck trails, near Waterbury.

Tank eighty-two

Total miles: 29365. Trip miles: 359.2. Gallons: 6.771. Price per gallon: $2.339.

Screen mileage: 57.0 mpg. Tank mileage: 53.0 mpg.

Highway miles, warm temperatures.

Tank eighty-one

Total miles: 29005. Trip miles: 204.1. Gallons: 3.601. Price per gallon: $2.399.

Screen mileage: 54.5 mpg. Tank mileage: 56.7 mpg.

Both commuting miles and highway miles. Tanked up prior to a long trip on the highway.

chocolate cake

chocolate cake
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This afternoon, I made my sister a double chocolate cake, for her birthday. I haven't made a cake in many, many years, but this seemed to turn out OK. I haven't tasted it yet, though.

skyline trail today

skyline trail today
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I went hiking on the Skyline Trail today. I'm not sure how far I went... I was out for only 2.5 hours. It was a comfortable day for hiking. It had cooled down considerably from yesterday's high of 90 F.

A review of "Thai Yellow Curry"

Thai Yellow Curry

by Helen's Kitchen

The Thai Yellow Curry frozen dinner from Helen’s Kitchen is good! In general, I want my food to be cooked fresh. But for a frozen meal, this is a winner!

Caveat: IMHO, this is barely hot at all, but it has a very nice flavor.

Pluses: All organic ingredients, vegan, 13 g of protein, relatively reasonable 390 mg of sodium (reasonable for a frozen dinner).

Drawbacks: 5 g of saturated fat, presumably from the creamed coconut (but it tastes so good!), 10 g of fat total. So you don’t want to eat this every day. But you shouldn’t eat frozen dinners every day, anyway.

See more about Thai Yellow Curry

skyline trail

skyline trail
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

Today's hike: 3 h 40 min | 7.5 mi | 2 mph

I went hiking at Blue Hills Reservation, along the Skyline Trail, from the parking lot along Headquarters Path to this mile marker at Chickatawbut Rd.

The Skyline Trail is pretty hilly, so the pace was not bad, considering that I'm just starting out the hiking season.

Tank eighty

Total miles: 28801. Trip miles: 426.6. Gallons: 7.855. Price per gallon: $2.319.

Screen mileage: 56.4 mpg. Tank mileage: 54.3 mpg.

More commuting miles and highway miles.

Tank seventy-nine

Total miles: 28375. Trip miles: 300.7. Gallons: 5.892. Price per gallon: $2.339.

Screen mileage: 55.3 mpg. Tank mileage: 51.0 mpg.

Mix of commuting miles and highway miles.

Boston skyline

view from skyline trail
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This is a view of the Boston skyline from the appropriately named Skyline Trail.

skyline trail

skyline trail
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I took a hike along the Skyline Trail at Blue Hills Reservation, today. The weather was great for it, despite the clouds. No rain, yay!

cherry tree

cherry tree
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

It's Spring!

chinatown gate

chinatown gate
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

This gate marks the entrance to Chinatown in Boston. It's a bit grandiose, considering that Chinatown is just a few blocks around...

chinatown

chinatown
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I visited Chinatown in Boston, yesterday. It's pretty small, just a few blocks around. Still fun to walk around, though. This sidewalk map is located just outside the gate.

Dalai Lama teaching

Dalai Lama teaching
Originally uploaded by wereldmuis.

I went with a friend to hear a public teaching from the Dalai Lama at Gillette Stadium, today. It got windy in the morning, and he pulled up his robe over his head, and encouraged everyone else to put on their hats or hoods, if they had one. He is quite charming!

Tank seventy-eight

Total miles: 28074. Trip miles: 388.1. Gallons: 7.17. Price per gallon: $1.999.

Screen mileage: 54.7 mpg. Tank mileage: 54.1 mpg.

Mix of commuting miles and highway miles. It's been warming up some, which must be helping.