I'm not Happy with Beavers...

Before I start my rant, I should mention a bit more about Lee Anne's 100K at the Pine Creek Challenge on September 6.  The scenery around Pennsylvania is spectacular!  One problem with using the GPS lady in my car is that she lulls you into a mid-grade stupor.  You stop paying attention to the road, because she is in fact driving the car for you.  This may not be entirely accurate, so don't set cruise and lower your seat back for a quick nap...

So, I'm admiring the scenery and half-listening to the driving directions when I notice a sign ahead indicating that I am 10 miles from the Grand Canyon.  Hmm.  I'm fairly certain the Grand Canyon is time zones away from Pennsylvania, so I thought perhaps I would pay closer attention to where I was for a few minutes, before lapsing back into my stupor.  Apparently, there is a different Grand Canyon in Pennsylvania!  This came somewhat as a relief!

Lee Anne's plan for the 100K challenge (it is actually not a race!) was to treat it as a training run for her upcoming 100 mile race.  She is hoping to return to Phoenix in December to address some unfinished business with an age category Canadian record.  So, Lee Anne ran the 100K at what will hopefully be her 100 mile pace.  Although slow, I was quite impressed by her constant pace.  Lee Anne finished the 100K in 14:09, which would be about perfect for the first 100K in a 100 mile record attempt.  More importantly, she still had some gas in the tank at the end.  The aid station volunteers and I got a bit of a chuckle from Lee Anne when she pass us at the 95K point and loudly declared that after the race, she would like to go to Subway and get a sub.  This is not the first thing I would have expected her to say!  It also indicated that she was not "hurting" as most humans should be, after having run 95K!

On to the rant...

When I was young, I was a farmer.  Okay, to be perfectly clear, I worked on a farm.  I tossed 30,000 square bales of hay into a few barns each summer.  I grew the crops and wrestled the bulls.  So, it has been a little vexing that I have had continuous issues with growing vegetables in my garden.  I wouldn't call the results pathetic, but definitely not bountiful.

I retired last May.  I vowed to correct the gardening issues come hell or high water!  (Note:  I live on the Mad river, so high water is a realistic issue.  The garden has been under water on several occasions)  Step 1:  Using the tractor, I put 3 tonnes of manure in the garden.  I expected more weeds, but was pleasantly surprised at how few extra weeds showed up. The manure made a significant difference to the garden!  We had tomatoes coming out the yingyang.  The potatoes actually grew!  Many cucumbers and peppers.  This was all very nice, but I don't eat many vegetables.  However, I do like carrots.  I plant a lot of carrots.  I spent hours (days?) weeding my 10 rows of carrots.  This year, they were fantastic.  Bumper crop!  4 rows were consumed over the summer and tasted sweet and wonderful.  6 rows I was holding back for the fall and over-winter storage.  I have not over-wintered carrots in 30 years.  I was pumped!  Until the #^%@% beavers intervened...

I don't like beavers.  These overweight rats are very industrious, but lack any sense of proportion.  I have a 100 foot poplar tree that is 4 feet in diameter at the base.  About 3 weeks ago, I noticed the beavers had been chewing it.  Seriously?  You are going to chew through 4 feet of tree?  Get a life, buddy!  Fortunately, they have abandoned their poplar quest (perhaps it was unpopular).  They found something much more annoying to do.  While Lee Anne and I where in Florida, the #^%^# beavers harvested all 6 rows of carrots.  Normally, the deer eat the carrot greens at this time of year, which is no big deal; I can dig up the carrots.  No.  The beavers (there is 2 foot wide muddy trail from the carrots to the Mad river) dug up all the carrots and hauled them away.  I didn't even know that beavers ate carrots!  I'm calmer now, but earlier I had visions of dynamite and beaver bits flying everywhere.

I'm still not happy.

And so we are now preparing for the Run For the Toad race.  Lee Anne is running the 25K, but since we have the Can Lake 50 the following week, I am relegated to being a volunteer.  Even running the short race (25K) would adversely impact my 50K at Canlake.  George and Peggy Sarson put so much effort into their race, it is important to be a part of their enterprise.  If you are attending Canada's largest trail race, please stop to say hello.  I will be handing out race kits on Friday, at registration early Saturday morning, then at the start/finish during the race.

I still remember handing Ellie Greenwood her Toad duffel bag.  I think I behaved myself...

Hope to see you at the Toad!