Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Week 6 Report

Many apologies to anyone who looked for this on Sunday. After a great start to the week, with over 3 miles on Monday and Wednesday, by Thursday I was feeling distinctly rocky. I had succumbed to one of the seasonal lurgies affecting the world and his wife in this part of the world. It’s hardly surprising as the weather had continued so grim and grey, that even had I felt like going out I doubt that anything productive would have been accomplished.

Saaremaa Orc

HOWEVER, one of the great things about living on an island is the changeableness of the climate. Monday of this week arrived on a wave of bright sunshine travelling arm in arm with the golden disk of a full moon in Leo. Lion people don’t really need warm weather. (I hate hot temperatures.) But we need light! So Monday was almost as perfect as it gets - AND the hours of daylight are increasing. The good news continued into Tuesday. The day was perfect for photography - I was off to the forest where I haven’t been since mid-January.

Through out most of the winter the forest paths that I usually walk on have been torn up, dug up and riddled with ruts and piles of jagged grey stones. The Presiding Powers had decreed a major improvement program of the paths in the Kudjape Tervise Radad. As well filling holes and depressions, the trails have been widened; boulders and tree stumps in the way have been dug up and disappeared.

To the Magic Forest,

over torn up roads and new;

the ugliness will fade, I hope.

The earth will heal herself


The new trails are now so wide that I began to wonder if the PP are not planning to asphalt them. As much as I value the new hard surface, lighted pathways to the Supermarkets, I would be dismayed to see these forest pathways turned into super highways for bikers and cars.

Another concern is that it seems a mis-distribution of resources. I have lived here for 12 years now. Twelve years in which the communities along the north coast of our island have been waiting for their turn to have the main road along the sea blacked topped. In many places it still is not. The dust in the summer is horrific.

As well as being unfair to the residents, it has now become a detriment to our tourism businesses. Many tour busses, especially those travelling with guests from the cruise liners use that road. There is really no acceptable alternative route to get from the Suvi Sadam (ship port) in Ninase to the important sites of Kaali Meteor Crator and the Angla Windmills.

It seems to me, we need to have that important North Coast road properly surfaced before we pave over our forest paths.


So, Lord of the Rings: Since the last report I have finished all three books. Frodo and Sam have accomplished their important task and been rescued. Last night I made a third attempt to watch the 1st movie in the series and lost. The three movies together add up to 10 hours of yelling and screaming, fighting the slavering orcs and assorted other disgusting beasts. I think I must be getting old. I give up. There’s too much of it.

On the other hand I am already planning to re-read the books after the summer. I raced through them this time because I so wanted to find out what happened next time I’ll go much more slowly.


Hope in the snow


Week 6 STATS

Miles walked – 15.6

Kms. walked - 25.2

Hours walked 7 hrs 05 min.

Days walked - 4

Total distance covered – 75.4

Equivalent Hobbit location

Enter tunnel under Hedge to reach The Old Forest. The path disappears.

Our friends are leaving the world they have always known and heading out into the for-real unknown.







Tree Witch




8 comments:

Rachel Green said...

Fabulous photos, Martha.

Here's a question -- If the eagles took Sam and Frodo home, why didn't they take them there as well?

martha said...

That's a good question. Maybe because they would not have been able to get through Sauron's defenses until he was defeated.

Reading the books, I was constantly struck by how carefully plotted the whole thing was. It's an extraordinary creation.

spacedlaw said...

Nice pictures.
I had missed this.

martha said...

Glad you liked the photos. It went up late-ish last night.

sonia said...

lovely pictures. i really like the one of the machine - think there's beauty in machines. was that what they used to rip up the roads?

martha said...

Hi Sonja,
I like old machines too. They are a form of 'found' sculpture. I don't think that particular machine is working too well. Up close it looks like a leftover from the Soviet period and i8s quite rusted. One of these weeks I'm going to do a post completely on the old stuff that is lying around.

sonia said...

Great idea for post!

martha said...

Thank you - soon!
Have to get back out and get the photos.