Related but General Chit-Chat
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Sounds like an exciting holiday Smirnoff. I am a home body that seldom travels more than 50 miles from home.
It's been about four years since we last had a foreign holiday so to speak, our youngest lad is 16 now and doesn't want to do the family holiday thing anymore with mummy and daddy so it's just the two of us, a nice 2nd honeymoon could be on the cards, plus we are going to the same resort that we had our first ever holiday together about 18 years ago so no doubt nostalgia and romance will be in the air
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I was out today for nearly 3.5 hours and logged a 31 mile ride That was 2,150 calories too!
The last 2 miles going home nearly broke me... I pass many things and once in a while will stop. check it out, before moving on.
Today a couple of things happened. A large animal crossed the trail in front of me. It covered about 300 feet in about 8 strides. Only took about 5 to 8 seconds to happen. I was about 800 feet away at the time... I couldn't tell what it was...It startled me and I only noticed in after it was already halfway across. It's size was at least 150 lbs. and the neck was short. The head looked like a cat head.... Here in FL we have Panthers and Bobcats... I didn't think a Bobcat got as big as what I saw. It was not Black which I believe is the only color our Panthers are. If I wager a guess, or were to throw out a description of what I saw,... I’d be saying it looked like a Cougar...but I don't think they live around the central FL area. It ran into some tall grass that resembles a corn field. I was traveling about 15 mph... I didn't stop, but I was quite nervous passing by and felt that what I saw could easily chase me down if it wanted.... about half mile away a lady with her dog was headed to where I had just come from, I warned her. She had a Border Collie I think... I told her what I saw was easily twice the size of her dog. ….
So then about a mile from there I’m back near a Pedestrian crossing that takes me over an intersection and there is a smoothie shop. A lady in her mid 30s was on a road bike and just began to leave… I stopped her and asked if she was headed back where I saw the big cat! She had just gone thru that area just before me... We began talking about what just happened to me, and our routes etc… we were headed in the same direction and had chatted a bit about biking and weight loss… turns out she had lost over 100 lbs. over the last 2 years and had surgery to remove the excess belly skin… 8 lbs. worth she told me. She asked me if we could ride together and chatted for the next 6 miles until our routes split up.
Carl -
Since posting this I looked this up. .
Fast Facts
Puma concolor coryi
Height: 23-27 inches at the shoulder for males; females are smaller.
Length: Males, 7 feet from nose to tip of tail; females, 6 feet
Weight: Males average 130 lbs; females 70-75 lbs
Lifespan: 10-15 years
and
Did You Know?
Proportionately, panthers have the largest hind legs of any cat, allowing them to leap up to 15 feet vertically and 45 feet horizontally.
A FL Panther is the closest candidate...Bobcats don't get nearly large enough That 45 foot horizontal leap matches the description and so does the 130 lb male weight!0 -
Sounds like a great experience Carl and probably a bit frightening and exhilarating too, I'm sure your heart beat must have jumped a bit when that ran out in front of you.0
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Wow Carl, that must have been heart pumping. The first time I saw a cougar it was only the tail. Husband & I were on a drive in the mountains along a creek. I noticed a flash of movement and by the time I could focus on it all I saw was just a tail as the cat jumped up a 20 foot bank. Husband didn't see it at all but he believed a cougar is the only thing that fit what little I saw.
The next time was elk hunting and DH & I were driving down a two lane logging road. This time he saw the cougar first, it was running parallel to the road and dove into a thick patch of brush. We called our hunting partners to come try to get it out of the bush. it took them over half an hour to get there and I had walked around the brush several times to try to get a glimpse of it. I was convinced that the cat had moved on because I couldn't see it, hear it. I also couldn't see any tracks out the brush. The bush was no bigger than an apple tree but has branches all the way to the ground. When the rest of the guys got there they sent in there dog to help chase the cougar out. Wow! it just exploded out of there and jumped across the road with one jump. We spent the rest of the day hunting that cougar, never going more than a mile from where we first saw it. It had at times been up in a pine tree 30 feet off the ground, which was the lowest branch. This one was a small male about 50 pounds.
OK now all of you know that I am a hunter. My weight gain has been since DH & stopped hunting, part of it is due to less exercise in the fall and I believe it is also because we no longer eat venison which is very lean compared to beef.0 -
Do you read much antrobin? I love the books of CJ Box, his Joe Pickett series is fantastic, Pickett is a Wyoming game warden who solves crimes, anybody who enjoys hunting would like these.0
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holy cow Carl! i would say it was a Panther but dang!. When we lived in Reno, in addition to the Coyotes, we had bobcats and Mountain Lions and the Occasional Bear. I rarely went out on the trail by myself because of it. The Coyotes were the biggest issue but we actually lost a cat to a Bobcat right in front of our house. Chances are unless they are sick, really hungry or feel threatened, they are not going to bother someone on a bike but doesnt make it any less scary! These days my biggest concern is stumbling on to a rattle snake although we do have Cougars and the occasional bear here. With the lack of water, everything is coming out of the hills.
Robin - its amazing how we realize the little things that we used to do that for what ever reason we got away from and how it impacts us.
Smirnoff - I love to read and am always looking for a good book. I'll have to check it out. Thanks.
Time to get back at it. This week and next have the potential to through me off track some. One of the bosses s is coming down from San Francisco tomorrow. We might have dinner Tuesday night - and I say might because we'll see if in fact he bothers to put aside any time for me. and I'm actually ok if he doesnt. Means I can get a ride in. Next week - Monday and Tuesday could be total washes. I have Client meetings about 2 hours from home both days so lots of driving. Ugh!
Time to get back at it! Have a great day all!0 -
Ann do you read on ereaders such as kindle or ibooks?0
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I have an Ipad that I use for all my reading these days. Took me awhile to get away from the mindset of actually having something with some weight that I could turn pages with but now, I love it especially since they got away from having to turn it off while flying.
I'm not a movie person but I can read for hours!0 -
I have an Ipad that I use for all my reading these days. Took me awhile to get away from the mindset of actually having something with some weight that I could turn pages with but now, I love it especially since they got away from having to turn it off while flying.
I'm not a movie person but I can read for hours!
PM me your email address and I'll send you these books0 -
Just got done reading this feed. I dont know where ive been but this is all very exciting! I love walking out doors and i too stop and look at things that are interesting to me. I live in WI so we have some really nice trails. I usually just walk around the city but on the weekends it nice to get in the wilderness.
I havnt seen anything as exciting as carl or antrobin but boy would that be amazing!0 -
LOL THIS MADE ME SMILE THANKS FOR SHARING
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lol we have all been there supermom :laugh:0
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Sounds like an exciting holiday Smirnoff. I am a home body that seldom travels more than 50 miles from home.
It's been about four years since we last had a foreign holiday so to speak, our youngest lad is 16 now and doesn't want to do the family holiday thing anymore with mummy and daddy so it's just the two of us, a nice 2nd honeymoon could be on the cards, plus we are going to the same resort that we had our first ever holiday together about 18 years ago so no doubt nostalgia and romance will be in the air
Good for you! That sounds wonderful. I love my kids but I have to admit, its enjoyable to now be where we can go on trips just the 2 of us and not have to worry about them. And they house sit! lol!0 -
The 10lbs. by September 1st challenge is now on! :bigsmile:
I've gotten the related topics created and will lock down the older ones soon.
Let's all make this month better than all of the others!
Thanks for all you do!
Carl -0 -
Carl are you able to edit the name of the group? I notice it says Septembert and it's sending my grammar OCD crazy lol0
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Sorry I didn't catch that Smirnoff
Carl -0 -
Carl are you able to edit the name of the group? I notice it says Septembert and it's sending my grammar OCD crazy lol
Smirnoff, not only do you have awesome work outs but you are also a grammarian. I fear I am often alone with with my need for near perfection.0 -
Carl are you able to edit the name of the group? I notice it says Septembert and it's sending my grammar OCD crazy lol
Smirnoff, not only do you have awesome work outs but you are also a grammarian. I fear I am often alone with with my need for near perfection.
I will take this opportunity to laugh out loud :laugh: :laugh:0 -
You guys are a riot... I've got a grin that wont quit because of you.. Oh Robin.... was the "with with" intentional? If so, I caught it and I think Smirnoff decided to laugh it off!Carl are you able to edit the name of the group? I notice it says Septembert and it's sending my grammar OCD crazy lol
Smirnoff, not only do you have awesome work outs but you are also a grammarian. I fear I am often alone with with my need for near perfection.
I will take this opportunity to laugh out loud :laugh: :laugh:
Fret not.. It happens to the best of us! :bigsmile:
Carl -0 -
I love you guys! I needed the chuckle this AM. My mother was an English teacher and heaven help me if I spelled anything wrong. She corrected everything I did. Now, I fully admit to being lazy typing sometimes and do not always capitalize things. I drive my daughters nuts because I constantly correct their grammar!
Now - an interesting thing for my friends is I am a good phonetic speller and reading. Growing up it was how I was taught and it worked. My oldest daughter is the same way. When my youngest started school in CA, phonetic spelling and reading was mandatory. She could not do that to save her soul. Long story short, we finally found a resource teacher who said something didn't add up because she struggled with the actually reading /writing but had 100% comprehension and recall. Had her tested and she is what they call a "global learner" - it has a different name now . So she does everything in whole thoughts and processes. She also tested to a 140+ IQ. The other funny part is her grammar and pronunciation is far better than her older sister who was the phonetic speller/reader.. We also just recently discovered she is slightly dyslexic. She now loves to read Her hand writing still sucks. Kids are an adventure.0
