creatures of habit...

Small town running story....

I have to be at work at 7:00am. I roll out of bed at 4:30am. I eat a banana, 7 saltines and 12 ounces of water. I put on my running togs and walk out my door at 5:00am. I run the same route (boring) each morning. I wave to the breakfast crowd (person) at Frank's. I give a shout out to the Austin Peay campus police at the same place every day.

Somewhere near my apartment, there are 2 guys that are equally consistent in their routine. Around the mile 4 mark, they come driving toward me. They give me a little honk of the horn. They also lean toward the passenger window and give me a big thumbs up. It's kind of freaky how often this happens and at the same place. It throws off my rhythm for the day when I don't see them.

trash talk.....

In the spirit of government staying out of peoples business, there isn't any citywide garbage collection services in Clarksville. People can select a company to pick up their trash or if they are really industrious, they can make frequent runs to "collection centers". My apartment complex has a couple of dumpsters discreetly tucked away. There are benefits to apartment living.

There is also no citywide recycling effort. The collection centers have designated dumpsters for plastics, paper, glass and paper. I have a big shopping bag in my pantry that I throw recyclables in. Every two weeks, I make the trek to the collection center. My favorite experience while I was out recycling happened a month ago. A school bus pulled in and a bunch of armed guards got out. A stream of inmates made their way to the trash and recycling bins. It turns out that some folks in Montgomery County are doing their part for a healthier planet.

it doesn't feel like thanksgiving.....

In an attempt to meet people, I have started to run with the Clarksville Running Club. My first attempt was June 4. I discovered that there are 2 types of runners in the club - fast ones and me. giggle. I ran the majority of the route by myself but I was exposed to a new running route. That's a huge fringe benefit. My goal was to keep them in sight so as not to get lost. I was successful.

Not one to be easily discouraged, I showed up at the Clarksville Greenway for meeting #2. Once again, I was left alone with my thoughts but the Greenway is really nice and tranquil. I didn't mind. It's a paved path through pretty dense woods. The Greenway route is an out and back so my social interaction was waving to the club members as they ran back to the start.

During the run, a huge wild turkey flew across my path. They are noisy fliers. I was a little shocked - the last time that I had seen one was in a shot glass in college. yikes

ladies and gentlemen, youngsters and oldsters....

I passed the 5 month point in C'ville on May 20. Students at the local university arrived for the Spring semester shortly after I arrived and they left for summer break last week. My favorite burger place is right across the street from the campus. I went in there on commencement day and there were caps and gowns everywhere. It was kind of fun.

Big tents started to spring up around town on Wednesday. They are pretty substantial tents and I had no idea what they could be for. A friend of mine back in Austin guessed that they were to be used for selling local produce. I was hoping that the summer gospel tent revival season was about to get underway. I had just finished reading Go Tell it on the Mountain so I was a little curious about that whole experience. The tents are big enough for a small circus but I couldn't figure out why there were so many of them spread around town.

It turns out that they will be selling fireworks out of them. The natives tell me that among other things, you can buy a quarter stick of dynamite. It will apparently destroy a garbage can. This will be quite the circus. giggle

man liveth not by bread alone...

Yes - but a case could be made for strawberry bread. I think I could liveth on that.

I made a trip to the strawberry farm on Saturday morning. That's 3 weeks in a row. The season must be nearly over. I had to work to get my flat of berries. I had gotten weary of strawberries and whipped cream so I gave strawberry bread a shot. I made 3 mini loaves this afternoon. 2 are destined for the freezer but I don't think it will be long before loaf #2 is called upon to thaw out. They are mighty tasty. The good news is that I still have a ton of strawberries left. The loaves in the freezer may be getting some company tomorrow night. giggle

b side to penny lane...

OK... I realize that this post is a little redundant. I'm just really enjoying strawberry picking season. I was supposed to be off today. What started out as a plan for working a couple of hours ended up being nearly a whole day. I left at 3:00pm, went to my little barber by Fort Campbell and then drove south to the strawberry farm. The are still tons of berries and it didn't long to get my $9 worth. My plan was to make some strawberry tea bread and strawberry muffins. Picking is such a relaxing activity, I may try making strawberry preserves. I've never done that. I'll make any excuse to go back out there for some fun in the sun.

strawberry fields forever...

Mary came for a visit last weekend. My new project is to sample some of the local produce. I got the idea when I first moved here and was searching for a house. I was driving around in the country and I passed a strawberry farm that was closed for the season. The Nashville public radio station advertises "Pick Tennessee" with web sites of local pick your own farms. I'm going to explore this part of Tennessee during the summer and find some farms that sell their local produce. We started this weekend with strawberries. We went to a farm south of Clarksville that was different from the one that I saw in January. It was a huge field and as you can see, the berries were ripe for the picking (sorry). We got about 4 quarts of strawberries for $8. I haven't been too creative with them - just some fresh whipped cream topping. I'm going back in 2 weeks and I already have my sights on strawberry muffins.