The area where I live is full of forest preserves, county and state parks and conservation district land. This is due in part to the prevalence of protected wetlands and also to some very active conservation groups. So while some of the old family farms are being swallowed up by the identical boxes of tract housing, others are being turned into public space.

Because there are so many parks, there are still many quite close by that we have not visited in our two and a half years here. I tried a new one for my run yesterday, and was not disappointed. The ash trail began behind a village hall and wound in and out of the wooded edge of a prairie preserve, ducking under the occasional low bridge on its way down to the river where I was met with a view across the water full of ducks diving for dinner while hawks circled above. I didn�t see another soul for the entire length of the path, which I�d estimate at 4-5 miles. It was beautiful and therapeutic, although since this was my first day back on the trail since my assorted illnesses of the last couple of weeks, I did a lot more walking than running.

It�s been a long time since I�ve had that much time free from human contact that didn�t involve me sitting in the basement staring at a laptop. It was nice to let my mind wander.

Unfortunately, I was brought back to reality on the way home when, with my usual grace and flair, I managed to close my right thumb in the car door. I had just pulled into the gas station and hopped out to fill the tank, when I realized I�d forgotten to flip the latch to open the gas cap cover. I stuck out my arm to try to grab the door before it swung shut, only to hear the click of the lock with my thumb stuck inside. Not my most brilliant maneuver. Fortunately, I had my keys, or it could have been a lot uglier. I�m just glad AJ wasn�t in the back seat, as I�m sure I would have been fielding some questions about the language I was using. Gone are the days when we could confuse then distract him: �Mommy just saw a DUCK. A very loud duck. Who wants ice cream?�

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