1. Byrdman's daily routine includes hiking Tubbs Hill. Today he texted me saying he wanted to change his routine and hike from Jacobs Gulch to Vergobbi (Italian) Gulch. I met him at the trail head of the Shoshone Medical Center's Health and Wellness Trail and, along with Byrdman's dogs, Sebi and Pip, we headed up the hill. The hike to the picnic table situated at the end of the Wellness Trail gave me much less trouble today than on Monday, but I was wise to take a break and enjoy the view of Kellogg and Wardner Peak and Haystack Peak across the valley.
I knew the trail steepened quite a bit heading up the hill from the picnic table. I gamely panted my way up the hill and reached a point where I had to stop. I was doubled over. My heart raced. I was confident that if I took some time to return to a normal breathing pattern and heart beat, I could make it to the top of the hill. I lay down. Byrdman scouted the area that lay ahead. He reported that soon the trail leveled off. My breathing and heart beat leveled off and, indeed, I made it to the top.
We enjoyed more views of Kellogg and the Silver Valley and before long discovered an undeveloped road and followed it. Eventually the road went downhill and we eased into Vergobbi Gulch.
I could tell that even though I failed to scale the hill on Monday, the effort strengthened me for today. Byrdman and I started this hike earlier than I did on my solo effort and I did much better in the slightly cooler conditions.
2. After Brian came over this afternoon, I committed to having a couple of his guys come over next week and work on the lilac trees/bushes. Brian wondered if I wanted them taken out. I didn't. I wanted the deadwood removed and wanted to revive the living parts of the lilacs. Soon, I'll talk with Debbie and see if we agree on this approach.
I took a day off regarding the washing machine. I'll be giving that quandary some attention on Thursday.
3. I watched some television today. First, I watched the first episode of the first season of the BBC series, Luther. Idris Elba plays the troubled and ingenious DCI John Luther brilliantly. I really enjoyed seeing Saskia Reeves playing the role of DSU Rose Teller, Luther's immediate supervisor. Reeves caught my attention in Salting the Battlefield, the concluding part of the Johnny Worriker spy trilogy. This episode of Luther not only tells the story of John Luther returning to work on a creepy case after being cleared in an internal investigation of his behavior, but it also examines how his wife has, during a period of separation from John Luther, fallen in love with another man. I understand that this thread of the plot develops Luther's troublesome character more fully and I see how it becomes a part of the case Luther is investigating. Nonetheless, on the whole, I am almost never as interested in the marital/family/personal lives of detectives on tv shows as I am in their professional work. In this episode, I was always relieved when Luther's highly charged confrontations with his estranged wife ended and the story returned to his investigation of the creepy narcissist who murdered her dog and her parents.
Later, in the early evening, I watched the Toronto Raptors defeated the seriously injury riddled Golden State Warriors, 123-109. I enjoy both of these teams a lot. In particular, I am impressed with how the Raptors' management built this Toronto team. All game long, I thought, yeah, Toronto built a title contender by trading for or signing some experienced players who had either been on NBA title winning teams elsewhere or had played deep into the playoffs and are veterans of the playoff experience.
Most notably and obviously, the best example of this is Kawhi Leonard, but so is another ex-Spur, Danny Green who, last night, played tenacious defense, buried six three point bombs, and didn't sulk when Coach Nick Nurse started Fred VanVleet in his place to open the second half. Two other experienced NBA players with deep playoff experience pop to mind: Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka. Toronto's Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet played superbly last night, too, but I enjoyed watching Leonard, Green, Gasol, and Ibaka not only make great plays, but I thought they were helping show their teammates how to make defensive plays and sharp passes and how to score in big moments.
With the Raptors maturing as a playoff team, it will be fascinating to see how Friday night's game unfolds, especially if Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson return to action for the Warriors.
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