Bigelow Hollow State Park - Breakneck Pond Loop

The dog loves water and chasing sticks.

After a week of house guests, I was eager to make up for lost time on Monday.  Everything I tried was such a struggle.  Fallen branches and a downed tree interrupted a four-mile run.  Mosquitoes were biting once I got writing.  Exhaustion and a boulder of a headache rolled in.  Tuesday's progress on an article due August 25th was a welcome relief.  It has thankfully passed the kitty-litter stage--it was so repulsive I didn't want to pick it up.  

Mountain laurel was in bloom.  I've never really been fond of their bland color.

Yesterday's words of wisdom from an editor echoed in my head as I tried to sleep.  I might as well have been pacing the floor.           
"No one can teach writing, as they say. We all have to learn it on our own, alone at the desk. Only the tough, determined, and persistent can get through that! Remember that."

Walt went up and around, while I went right over the debris, in my typical manner.

The rougher side of the pond.

Why not turn the "Os" into a happy face?

June 28th, I pushed it hiking about 6.8 miles around Breakneck Pond at Bigelow Hollow State Park.  At the time, I figured I could do about 7 miles on the ankle I'd sprained a week or two before.  On the other side of the pond, loose rocks did a number on my foot as I picked my way across them.  By the time I got home, I was exhausted and the ankle was beat.  
  

While I was snapping a photo of the flowers, the mud-soaked dog  did the wet-dog shake all over my legs.