2. I drove up to Coal Creek in the afternoon. I was eager to get back on a hiking trail after several days away and I was eager to take some pictures. I arrived, and as I hiked a ways up the trail, I kept repeating the Robert Frost line: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep." Out on the Forest Service Road #9, as I drove to the trail head, the sun shone brightly and river sparkled, but on this trail, the sun all but disappeared, the creek was dark, and it was more like evening than afternoon on the trail, both in terms of light and temperature. I enjoyed the temperature.
My camera and I, however, struggled with the diminishing light. The lens I brought with me is not particularly fast and so I took several pictures with shutter speeds that were a little too slow for me to keep the camera steady in my hands. About four or five shots in, I wished I'd brought a tripod -- well, I need to buy a tripod -- I've either lost or given the ones I used to own away! I tried steadying my camera using a hiking pole, but that didn't work very well. I'll post some pictures below that worked out pretty well, but if I go back to Coal Creek to take pictures on an autumn afternoon, I will either need a faster lens -- which I have, but they are not telephoto -- or take a tripod in there -- or both....we'll see.
3. When I got home tonight, as I administered antibiotic cream to my big toe, after a month, my big toe's nail came off, as I'd been told it would. I new one is growing in. There's no pain or discomfort.
So, where had I been?
Cas invited Seth and me to watch the Nationals and Brewers play their Wild Card Playoff game at the Lounge. He didn't open the Lounge. We just watched the game on the screen over the bar and enjoyed a few beers while doing so. Tracy brought a couple of generously supplied food trays from Yoke's along with some cookies and a bag of rolls and I loved eating beef and swiss sandwiches, some vegetables, and enjoyed a cookie for dessert.
The game was fascinating and raised all kinds of questions (which I won't get into here) for Cas, Seth, and me about managerial strategies. Down 3-1 in bottom of the eighth inning, the Nationals loaded the bases after Michael Taylor was hit by a pitch (at least that was the call), Ryan Zimmerman hit a banjo single that shattered his bat, and Anthony Rendon walked. Juan Soto, only twenty years old, looked like a grizzled veteran as he coolly lined a sharp single to right field. The Brewers' rookie right fielder, Trent Grisham, misplayed Soto's hit, the ball shot under his glove and past him, and all three runners scored, giving the Nats a 4-3 lead which turned out to be their margin of victory.
At times during the game, I got nostalgic. I loved the Old Line Bistro in Beltsville and saw many Nationals' games being broadcast there. I didn't often pay close attention to what was happening in those games, but a strong link formed in my mind between Old Line and the Nationals and, while I loved watching this game with Cas and Seth, I would have also loved to have been at the Old Line, sipping on a pint of Flying Dog's The Truth, and joined in the explosion of joy that must have erupted last night when the Nationals came from behind to win this game and advance to a five game series with the Dodgers.
Here are a few pictures I took today on the Coal Creek Trail:
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