An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

Today the boys and I participated in a trail maintenance event at Alexander Berger Wildlife Sanctuary near Fredericksburg. We noticed the event because it was listed as a geocaching event - some local cachers had done this to publicize the trail maintenance day, which was really a Nature Conservancy event. And the cachers did more than list it. The couple who had listed it showed up with a veritable feast of trail food - coolers of soda, every sort of snack bar imaginable, fresh-baked cookies, fruit and more! We were a well-fed crew. And a hard-working one too. The group split up into three work parties: one walked trails clearing brush, another side-hilled the trails (dug the trails back into the sides of hills) and a third built log walkways over some areas that had flooded due to beaver activity. T went with the brush-clearers, while D & I worked bridges. It was not an easy day! Two days later and I'm still sore. But a lot of fun, and everyone there was really nice - the sta...

I came upstairs a little while ago to find my wife watching an an old Sex and the City re-run. Now, I must admit to knowing the basic story arc of the show, however I haven’t seen nearly all the episodes. But the one V was watching tonight is my new all-time favorite. Why? Because it’s the one where Harry Goldenblatt and Charlotte first hook up. The idea that an average-looking, bald Jewish guy could wind up with an uber-Shiksa like Charlotte is an inspirational fantasy for those of us who happen to be average-looking, bald Jewish guys. Not that I’m in the market for a new relationship, uber-Shiksa or otherwise. But it makes you think anything is possible. And now, the tenuous hook to the outdoorsy theme of this blog: one positive thing about being bald; you don’t look mussed up after rolling a kayak.

Today is my first Friday off in my employer’s new “9/80” program – work 80 hours in 9 days, get every other Friday off. It’s kinda funny – we all work nine or more hours a day anyway, so it really hasn’t made my other days much longer. As one of my colleagues said, for us it’s a tacit approval to actually take some of those many accrued comp hours every once in a while. Anyway, as soon as the family was out the door this morning I threw the kayak on the car and headed down to Mason Neck. It was a misty morning – quite beautiful, in fact – the water and sky differentiated only by varying shades of gray. Mason Neck is always a great place for bird life. This morning, the wonders started before I even got on the water. As I was unloading my boat a bald eagle swooped by and grabbed a fish out of the water. I stood transfixed by this scene, realizing only after a minute or so that I still had my sixty pound kayak slung over my shoulder. The rest of the trip was equally enthralling, birdwise...