Blooms

This weekend, the weather treated us to gorgeous sunshine with a few clouds. So, in addition to enjoying my long runs and a barbeque with friends (and their chickens and kids). E and I drove out to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

There were rows of colors as far as the eye could see.




When the sun came out, the colors were almost too brilliant to bear.



They come in all shapes and sizes. This is one of my favorite tulips of the day, Claudia:



For Christmas, my brother-in-law gave me a book titled The Thoughtful Gardener. It is a hilarious collection of vignettes by a British Master gardner. I'm 3/4 through it, and only this week hit the first entry related to vegetable gardening. Previously, I enjoyed gardening for food. But this book (and the trip to the tulip festival) have broadened my horizons and I now have plans to plant bulbs and flowers for more than just attracting pollinating insects.

In running news, my mileage hit 47+ last week. I've never had a training week that heavy before, and this week's is scheduled to be even larger. So far, I'm holding up relatively well -- my legs are tired and tight from the weekend's long runs, but I feel strong and ready for today's 6 mile recovery run. 4 weeks 'til the marathon!