I picked up a pair of Salomon Quest Prime GTX hiking boots (in a color called “Swamp/Night Forest/Titanium”), and they are working out quite well. I’ve finished two hikes in them. Today, with good hiking socks, there was not even a hint of blisters. They provide much better support for my feet. They do fit a little large, though. I really put the Gore-Tex to the test today, tromping through streams, puddles, and mud; my feet stayed perfectly dry inside. These are mid-height boots, and there really is a bit of ankle support, but perhaps more importantly, I feel more confident walking through trails filled with piles of leaves hiding who-knows-what underneath.
Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery was pretty good. A little more episodic in nature, and they didn’t jump any sharks this season. I really liked Anson Mount as Christoper Pike, but I didn’t really dig Ethan Peck’s version of Spock. In my opinion, the massive space battles were too much for that time period, but it was entertaining television. However, the writers need to learn more about computers and time travel. The second season of The OA was nearly as good as the first. It was weirder, and in many ways it was evocative of David Lynch. Season 5 of Bosch was very good.
I read Spock’s World, and it was alright. The story itself is fairly mundane, but the book is padded with a series of vignettes about life and the evolution of civilization on Vulcan, and that was more fulfilling for the Trek fan inside of me. Cat Out of Hell was decent, but I wish authors would stop trying to tell stories through alternate forms of narration. I read Black Leopard, Red Wolf, and it is by far the most vulgar novel I have ever read.
I have built a new web server and I am migrating my web sites to it. They have been on a “temporary” server for nearly four years, and much of the software is becoming out of date. It has been a good chance to clean things up and make improvements.
I took a day off of work to go turkey hunting on the opening day of the season. Five years ago, I bought and patterned a shotgun specifically for turkey hunting, but I never got to go. This year, a friend of mine invited me to hunt on his 200-acre property. He swore that turkeys had been gobbling there recently, but on the morning I went, there was nothing. Still, it was a beautiful morning to be out.
I backpacked Rockpile Mountain Wilderness again, with much better results. I went on some good hikes on each of the weekends since my last trip there, and it really paid off. I managed to explore the rest of the trail system. I think I have talked myself out of volunteering or adopting the trails at the wilderness. I just don’t have the time to commit. I don’t need to backpack there anymore this year, although I might go there for some squirrel hunting. My next backpacking plan is for Hercules Glades Wilderness.
I have fourteen pepper plants in two rows of my vastly expanded garden, and they are doing quite well. I need to prepare a third row, but it is time consuming and hard work.
