#finally got to the end of the teal mask and it was very enjoyable!

[empoleon]

i would die for ogerpon

[dansnaturepictures]

Rutland Water Blog 4: 21/08/2021: Egleton Nature Reserve-Blog 2 of 2: Sedge Warbler, Hobby, grebes and more and summary thoughts on the trip 

Then we looked in on a hide close to the reedbeds where another bright blue Migrant Hawker this weekend danced along.

Then we were astounded as two Sedge Warblers, possibly young, were around right in front of the hide. We saw them in reeds and picking on the muddy floor to an incredible detail being right in front of us, seeing their warm and sweet colours and wonderfully striking eye striped markings. It was sensational and I was utterly mesmerised to be in their presence and get to see them so well. They were amazing photo opportunities and it went down as the maybe runaway unexpected wow moment of the trip. I am used to seeing this favourite bird of mine close up when at Rutland Water but that’s as they feature heavily in the brilliant BTO ringing demonstration which we enjoy a lot every year and is such a key part of why they are one of my favourites. So to see them more wildly very close up was a special nod to one of my favourite bits of the Bird Fair. What a year I have had for them. What a bird. What a moment a real standout moment in my entire time watching this species over the years. I got the first picture in this photoset among others tweeted on Dans_Pictures of one of these. A Reed Warbler was around and a Cetti’s Warbler calling in front of the hide too which was nice. 

I liked seeing some hides and bits of the reserve that in the busyness of Bird Fair when we do come up perhaps we’d never been to before and taking a look into the open main bit of Rutland Water at part of the South arm and it looked gorgeous as did so much of the water, wooded and rural landscape again today. I took the second and third pictures in this photoset of this area where dozens of Tufted Ducks rafting stood out too probably the most Tufted Ducks we’ve ever seen at once before another key moment with a diving duck today. 

After a lovely cup of tea at the visitor centre and a refreshing lunch at the car where we saw the lovely white-lipped snail in the fourth picture in this photoset looking nice and yellow we explored the maybe more familiar place to us overall hides south of the visitor centre. In what can be a memorable part of time away in Britain especially in the summer the heavens opened for most of this saunter around most of the rest of the hides. But this did not dampen our enthusiasm as we saw yet more amazing wildlife.

Slick Osprey as shown again in the sixth picture I took today in this photoset and gigantic Great White Egret wrote this weekend’s name in my personal wildlife history books somewhat. We just saw them so many more times in an already very packed day and weekend for them. With Great White Egrets nearly everywhere we turned we got a very intimate view of one flying towards us making out its immense scale in one of the hides which was great. And we saw an Osprey sat in a bare tree as the photo shows in the water at lots of the hides as we really made the most of seeing this iconic species so dear to us at a place we hold dear. It’s so lovely to see both these species in such high numbers here in varying ways. The Ospreys obviously boasts of the inspirational project of bringing these endearing and spectacular raptors back to their rightful habitat and the immense hard work of so many wonderful people to make it happen. And the Great White Egrets speak of this species’ ever more successful imitation of the Little Egret’s invasion possibly fuelled by global warming and bird’s ranges heading north this area is now so strong for both. It’s interesting there has been much debate about whether Grey Herons can continue to do well with the egret species thriving and more of these types of birds to arrive in bigger numbers going forward it seems. But nature is so beautifully balanced and I’ve seen both egret species and the Grey Heron in great harmony this weekend.

At the panoramic 360 degree hide one of my favourites here and the next along I took the seventh and eighth pictures in this photose of landscapes from here and fifth of a view from an earlier hide it was great to see a fairly big group of Little Grebes. On this lagoon we saw many Little Grebes and Great Crested too one pair with an adorable humbug chick on one of the adult’s backs which was amazing to see. A Green Sandpiper arriving was great to see again here too as were more Mute Swan families. And seeing a fancy falcon the Hobby glide over another astonishing raptor like the Spotted Redshank and flycatcher summed up what I meant about the quite random nature of birds I was seeing today and it was a very welcome sighting a very pleasant fifth time seeing a Hobby this year. I have to say though yesterday when I was marveling at the many dragonflies this strong site for them has to offer as I mentioned in yesterday’s posts I did say I was surprised we had not seen hobbies here more the dragonflies their main prey and one was reported at Lyndon. So it was great to get almost another thing I sort of predicted this year in seeing this one dash over the hide.

Some of the last hides we visited which we haven’t for years or might not have before overlooked the entire area of the Lyndon nature reserve we were at yesterday as the tenth picture in this photoset shows with the fifth taken of a hide before with the settlement nestled in on the hill above it. This was fascinating seeing it and prominent trees as shown in the picture I have enjoyed for so long at Lyndon from this unique angle. And it of course gave us some very valuable chances to see the Ospreys in their Manton bay manor with three visible the same birds from yesterday which it was exceptional to see again. A Great White Egret stood tall in the corner of water on our side and that as some of the final moments may just have summed up the trip.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Yellow-legged Gull of the year, seven of my favourite birds the Osprey, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Great Crested Grebe, Pochard, Sedge Warbler and Green Woodpecker, one of my favourite butterflies the Small Tortoiseshell, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, a quite early Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler, Moorhen, Coot, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Egyptian Goose, Mute Swan, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Ruff, Lapwing, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Green Sandpiper, Snipe, Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Hobby, Swift, Sand Martin, Reed Warbler, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Spotted Flycatcher, Woodpigeon, Raven I have seen a lot of them this year here which I’ve not seen before here, Gatekeeper, a possible hairstreak butterfly early on flitting around trees, Common Darter, Migrant Hawker, Common Blue Damselfly, Rabbit, white-lipped snail, other snails and black slugs about a lot in the run up to hides in the rain, crane fly, spiders, wasp, newt and I heard a Cetti’s Warbler. Well that brings to an end as anticipated one of my best times this year. There was no Bird Fair but as I said yesterday it was a true bird fest with I had to count as I recorded seeing so many 53 species seen. I saw so many birds, butterflies, dragonflies, damselflies, mammals, flowers and other insects and so well seeing some extremely important species for my year. It was such fun in a really beautiful area too and a great time to relax and reflect on our return to this precious area for us. I felt very safe with the use of my face mask and lots of chances for hand sanitation at the hotel and reserves and with how much we truly packed in especially all the walking between hides both days I felt that sweet sensation of feeling so positively tired at the end of the day after a journey home when the sun emerged with some glorious bright scenes and orangey ones too as the sun set a bit seen from the car a quite enjoyable journey. The time at Rutland Water was like a tapestry of gleeful moments woven from our experiences of the wildlife watching side of Bird Fairs of past including regularly in them and new memories alike. What a time away. Thanks for your appreciation of all my posts about it.

My first post about the time at Egleton today is this one: https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/660261401265405952/rutland-water-third-blog-210821-egleton-nature

[not-your-average-hazbin]

Time to Unwind- Baxter x Alastor Fluff Story

The fish was busy working in the laboratory, slaving over his projects and studies. Working at his desk on reading a book on the “Chemistry of Poisons”, usually one of his favorite topics to look into… He was losing his focus slowly, but surely. He didn’t know what had gotten into him. He was nearly falling asleep, and it wasn’t even that late! Baxter was rubbing his eyes and adjusting his goggles. He attempted to read on, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He felt off, unfocused. He took his glasses off and rested his head on the large book, using it almost like a pillow, his brain was so terribly scattered, he had to clear his head somehow. Baxter decided to put his work aside for a small while. And read for pleasure instead. He picked up the book he’d been working on, and sat on his blue velvet loveseat, spreading out on it, and laying down with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Alastor was rather bored, nothing to do. Most of the misfits had gone to bed, as he had no need for it, he didn’t sleep often. He knew he couldn’t mess with and or scare anyone or the princess would be dissatisfied, and he wasn’t in a place where he needed to hunt out in the woods for food. So he ended up teleporting to the laboratory with a snap of his fingers, to check on the fish that he knew fairly well. When he had nothing better to do he liked to tamper with his scientific sets up to see if he can eat any of his specimens. He would often be chewed out by the little fish, he just found it humorous. But when he did end up feeling nice, or to get himself out of the dog-house with Baxter, he would go around fetching him little dead things. Like mice, rats, and birds. Baxter wasn’t disgusted, he instead used them as specimens, they seemed to make him happy. Those were the specimens Alastor never ate. Nevertheless, he checked the fish’s bedroom first, no sign of him. Alastor opened the door back into the lab and saw Baxter, his little light on, reading a book. The freckles on his cheeks let off a dim glow along with the other bioluminescent markings on his small frame. Alastor’s already large smile widened unintentionally, and the tall demon skunk in the shadows making his way behind the little loveseat.

Baxter continued on reading, using his esca as a reading light. It was rather convenient this way. His goggles slid down his small bump of a nose. And continued on. Alastor slid up behind the small fish’s head, behind his slicked back greasy hair. He turned a few more pages, Alastor reading over his shoulder. Alastor couldn’t help it anymore so he softly said, as not to frighten him too terribly much.

“Hello Doctor~” He said in almost a sing-song tone.

Baxter jumped, and being the skittish thing he was he threw the book in the air and rolled off of the small couch with a yelp. Alastor seemed satisfied, and let out a small chuckle. Catching the book he was reading in mid-air with a single snap.

“A-Alastor! I told you to knock. Or announce yourself for that matter……” He was embarrassed. He stood up, dusted himself off and sat back down, now taking up less than half the seat because of his size.

“I apologize for startling you Baxter, Hmhm~ Would never do it intentionally…” He smirked as he said this. The Radio Demon grabbed the book Baxter had thrown and set it in the small fish’s lap. He looked at it and the said

“It’s alright, Erm…. why did you come down here anyways? Did you need something?” He asked.

“ No no, just passing through to check in. Nothing more.” Responded the deer fellow.

“Well, In that case…. I’ll be back to my book.” Said Baxter continuing with his reading, expecting The Radio Demon to leave. But Alastor didn’t leave, nor did he have the intent of leaving. He sat down by the fish, he sat there, completely entranced by his little light on the end of Baxter’s lure. It bobbed up and down as the scientist read. Alastor watched it so intently, his large red eyes went a bit static. The even made the staticy noises. Baxter tried to pay it no mind, but he was staring blankly at him. He thought it was extremely odd. He returned to his reading, trying to dismiss it.

He was able to do so, until he felt his lure move slightly. He looked up from the page he was reading, to see Alastor’s hand, poking his light. The fish froze. The teal spots on his face lit up brightly, his eyes were wide, and his light turned pink. Alastor looked at it with a quizzical look in his eyes now in place of the blank stare.

“It’s…. Rather beautiful…. It can change color?” His ears were positioned high on his head, showing his interest. Baxter remained still, and managed to stutter out.

“Wh-Why Yes…. It… Can….” The fish was visibly nervous, but Alastor was too occupied by his light to notice.

“Well…. What does pink mean? I’m rather curious now…” He questioned. The fish began to sweat a little, he happened to know the meaning of the mood ring attached to his lure. The light went brighter pink, and so did his cheeks. Alastor went giddy at this, and let out a little deer squeak of excitement. Baxter was surprised to hear this out of the “Formidable Radio Demon” even if he was part deer. His surprise just made the lights on his face and lure brighter and more vibrant. They were not helping his cause...

“There it went again! It got even more rosy!” The tall demon gently poked and prodded the significantly smaller demon’s bright pink esca for a small while, the tiny fish powerless to stop him.

“Hm, I wonder….” Alastor muttered quietly. Baxter’s eyes widened, before he could even utter the word “No.” The Radio Demon started to rub and caress his little light, masking it’s glow in his large gloves hands, his smile wide. Baxter felt himself relax, without him wanting to. His body went from tense, to relaxed just like that, his expression changed to a softer one of enjoyment. Alastor noticed the tension in the fish disappeared, and smiled even wider, rubbing gently, seeing into the light which showed very well the scientist’s mixed emotions, in pinks, reds and purples.

Alastor’s eyes lit up, he found them so pretty, putting off a bright glow in the dark laboratory. Baxter couldn’t resist him, and the deer knew it. Baxter wasn’t in control of his own actions, he was unsure, but not opposed to the treatment he was getting. Alastor looked Baxter up and down, he seemed content with what he was doing, then he looked to his little webbed fish fins on the sides of his head. Baxter’s fins were perked all the way up, and they twitched, just a little. Since Alastor had been so curious about the fish, why not test just one last theory?

Alastor let up on the Angler’s light, giving him just a moment to recover, his light shifting to a hue between his normal yellow, and that pinky color from before. He breathed more heavily than usual. He was nervous. He met eyes with Alastor.

“A-Alastor… What was that all abou-“ The Radio Demon cut him off. Alastor reaches for Baxter’s fish ears. Starting slowly, scratching right behind it. Baxter yelped, startled by his sudden motion. The fish’s reaction was priceless to him, he was surprised at first, but it melted into satisfaction. The little demon loved it so. Those cheeks with the little glowing aqua diamonds on his face, his glasses were crooked, but his expression was pure joy. Alastor hadn’t ever seen the scientist like this. He was always so uptight, stressed, and focused. It was a treat to see him so relaxed.

Baxter liked this. He couldn’t place his finger on why. It was. Like he was getting attention he had never felt before, like he’d been noticed by someone who enjoyed his company. He finally gave into his feelings and responded to his urges. He rubbed his cheek on the hand stroking him, encouraging him to go on, too happy for words.

Alastor was rather surprised by this response. But he obeyed Baxter’s silent request. Smiling, his little plan had worked. He sat there rubbing the fish’s soft little face, and then, Baxter did something to make Alastors entire afterlife spin.

He curled up quietly, and began vibrating. Alastor could feel it, and he recoiled. Slightly startled as he had never done this before, the fish hadn’t ever vibrated. He had a disturbed look on his face, and his ears sunk. So many thoughts ran through his head all at one time,

Is he alright?! Is he broken!? Did I break him!? Oh Dear Satan what have I done!?

Baxter looked confused and slightly disappointed.

“W-What was that? Baxter what did you. What did you just do?” Alastor asked.

“What? Was I doing something?! Did I do something?” He asked frantically.

Alastor took a moment, and processed what had happened in his little “test.” Then it hit him. He understood what it was then. Baxter has no time to react or protest. Because Alastor went right back to gently caressing the spot, that large smile still widening. Baxter was ill-prepared yet again, but went back to his curled up state. Purring gently enjoying the special treatment.

Alastor got into a rhythm. He rubbed for what he felt was an eternity, an adorable lovely eternity. He had even scooted closer to Baxter, feeling his gentle vibrations on his side. The small fish lad even got enough confidence to snuggle up closer to the giant deer.

After a few minutes more the purring, over time just transferred to soft steady breathing, and as for The Radio Demon, he had been lulled to sleep, his monocle has slipped down on his face, and so had the scientist’s glasses. Alastor fell asleep, happy where he was, he didn’t know why but it felt right. So he slept, next to his dear Baxter making soft deer noises and little snores.

Follow~up: Angel knocked on the lab door, checking to see if the fish was awake. He wags going to set up speakers in Baxy’s room. And crank “My Heart Will Go On” as loud as he could. Just to piss him off. That’d be a hilarious wake-up-call. He walked in, and saw Baxter and Alastor cuddled up on the blue velvet couch. He nearly verbally said “Aweeee!” but he restrained himself. He snapped a picture with his phone, chuckled at it. And left. Closing the door and taking his brand new blackmail with him~

((WOOHOO! I’M FINISHED AND I ENJOYED IT!

Thank you to....

@zoophobiapika, @evilassumptions, and @zpheadcanons ! For giving me headcanons and ideas to base this off of! Couldn’t have done it without them!

And to

@upppwego, and the lovely @ellen-jello for keeping me motivated and being so openly excited about it!

I hope everyone liked this. And please leave a comment if I should do more! Farewell my fellow Demons, Sluts, Sinners and Hazbins. I’m out! <3))

[kellexplainsitall]

This is going to be a novel. TLDR; Calf wasn't an issue, the sun and humidity were. Did not BQ, but finished in 3:34:57.

Thursday

Tim, Miles and I hit the road around 5:30, and got to WB a little after 7. We ate dinner, went for a walk with Miles and just hung out with my parents. Miles had gotten his hair cut earlier and he just looked so handsome in his scarf. I accidentally stayed up until 10:30, my mom and I were laughing and looking at old pictures. It was really nice.

Friday

No one wanted to run, and I was up early, so I took Miles out around the block. As we got back, I realized he had diarrhea all over my parents' rug! I tried to find carpet cleaner, but could not locate any. My father told me to just use multi-purpose cleaner, which I had to tell him was not a good idea. Tim ended up running to WalMart to get some, since it was so early. I felt guilty, but he told me to just go  so we could get on the road. I ran six easy and showered before leaving around 9.

We survived on snacks and got to Boston around 2:30, it really wasn't a bad trip, I do better in the car if I just mentally prepare myself for it. Once we got to the hotel, we dropped off all of our stuff, each had a very overpriced drink and then went out to explore. We hit a few bars, but it was quite busy everywhere. We ended up going to dinner at 5 p.m. because we were famished from not having a real meal all day.

Post-dinner, we went to two Irish pubs (discovering one had my FAVORITE cider from Scotland. I WAS SO HAPPY!). We called it a night early, it had been a long day.

Saturday

Tim and I were up before 7, he planned to go watch the Spurs game at their bar, and I went to meet Rebuck for a run. Rebuck and I watched some of the 5K, and then finished our run along the Charles River, we saw Sarah Sellers and some of the NAZ Hoka Elite guys!  That was cool. Post-run, Tim and I got ready and headed to the expo, which was a goddamn zoo. We waited about 25 minutes to get in, and Scott Jurek walked by, so that was neat. We got my bib and I also bought a shirt and a hat and then we got out of there. I wasn't that impressed and it was way too crowded.

We also visited Tracksmith, where I did some damage and a few other places. It was about 1.5 miles back to the hotel, so we stopped to get a drink and a snack and then we just ate PBJs at the hotel while relaxing. We met Jenny and Bob for a few drinks, and then my family friend, Ronnie came out, so we ended up being out from 5-8. WHOOPS. We had planned to go to this healthy-ish place for dinner, but they were close to closing, so I had some carrots and a sweet potato for dinner. NOT IDEAL.

Tim and I stopped at Walgreens and he got some beer and I got some veggie sticks because I was still quite hungry. His cousin, Sam, came to the hotel to see us, and I hung out for a little, but eventually put my sleep mask and earbuds in and went to bed at 9:30. I had over 35,000 steps by the end of the day, and at least 25,000 of those were JUST walking.

Sunday

Tim and I met Jenny and Bob in the lobby, then we ran over to Boston Common to pick up Rebuck and Pam. It was super hot and muggy, and we had fun taking pictures and looking at things. We got in about 5 miles at a 9-minute pace. We even saw Deena Kastor zip by! That was awesome.

Tim and I headed over to a brewery he had wanted to visit, but on the walk over, I started to feel pretty off. I had a terrible stomachache and felt very nauseous (I did have my period, maybe it was that). I thought maybe I was just hungry, so I ordered a side of roasted potatoes, but when they came, I wanted to barf. AND I LOVE POTATOES. I choked down half of them and then I walked back to the hotel and laid down. I spent most of the day in bed, my stomach just hurt so badly and I felt really weak. I did manage to eat a pbj and some pretzels, so at least I had some food in me.

I started to feel a little better, so we took an Uber to Harpoon to meet Tim's cousins Sam and Rachel. It was SUPER crowded and I had half of a cider before I started to feel sick again. I think it was just too crowded in there. I was also v. annoyed that everyone kept telling me I was just nervous. NO I FEEL AWFUL! I ended up Ubering back early, and taking another nap and Tim just picked up pizza and we ate back in the room. I was able to enjoy my dinner, so at least there is that. I still had a stomachache, but didn't feel as weak.

I went to bed around 8:30, Tim stayed up to watch GoT, but I slept like the dead.

Monday - RACE DAY

I was up at 5:30, got myself ready, ate PB toast with banana and then met Jenny and Bob in the lobby. We took an Uber to the Common to drop off our bags and while in line for the buses, the skies opened and started pouring. Fortunately, we had ponchos on (Thanks Jenny!). The bus ride was sooooo long, there was a crazy thunderstorm, and at one point, we were just stopped on the highway. Apparently, they had made everyone in the common not on a bus seek shelter, that's how bad it was! I was so grateful to have gotten on a bus.

Once we finally got to the village, I was a sweaty mess because it was 500 degrees on the bus. We made our way to the village, and the first tent was just a muddy, wet mess. Fortunately, we found some room in the second one, and sat down, taking turns to go to the bathroom and eating. Before I knew it, they were calling their wave, so I said goodbye and sat alone for 20 minutes, then changed my shoes and started the walk to my wave.

It had stopped raining and it was very muggy. I found a friend from home, Rachel, on the walk, and we talked for a bit before lining up, it was good to have someone there! While going to the bathroom for the last time, I saw my tampon had LEAKED ALL OVER MY TEAL SHORTS. I was mortified, but what can you do? I hoped it looked like mud. I was shaken up from that.

We finally lined up, and we were off. It was muggy, but overcast, so that helped. I took water from every single station and every spectator I could get it from. I was soaked in sweat by the second mile, but I was still feeling OK. The first half FLEW by. I hate saying that, it sounds so dumb, but it did. I had to put the brakes on so many times, the pace felt stupid easy and I felt like I could go so much faster, but I knew that would be dumb. It was still quite overcast, but I was doing OK with the fluids and getting fuel in.

7:49 7:44 7:45 7:40 7:42 7:40 7:42 7:41 7:44 7:44 7:41 7:36 7:39

I hit the half in 1:41 and change. I focused on getting to Matthew and Angela at 17.5, just for something to think about. I had my iPod on, but the volume was low and it was just for background noise.

7:41 7:45 7:42 7:48 8:02

Then, the sun came out. And the wheels started to come off. I saw Matthew and Angela and it was a huge boost. But it was so muggy and hot, and the sun was just blaring down on us. I was struggling. I saw my HR was 195 (!) which it doesn't usually hit in a 5K, so I knew I needed to do something. I took my first walk break.

8:21 8:49 10:36

I was in the midst of the infamous Newtown Hills, and I was on the struggle bus. I hit the 20 in 2:37 and change, and knew there was still hope to BQ, but I was toast. I was just too hot. I reminded myself to keep moving forward. A 9:30 mile is better than a 10-minute mile.

8:34 9:13 9:45

I saw Tim's friend Meg at 23, so that was great. When I hit 24, I made the decision to try to finish without any more walk breaks, and I DID! I wasn't running fast, I just wanted to be DONE. I saw Tim, with Rebuck and Pam, near the finish and they encouraged me to finish strong.

8:34 8:51 last .4: 7:46

I knew I was close to coming in under 3:35, and I ended with 3:34:57. When I finished, I felt... fine. I know I had more in the tank, I know I had a faster time in me. It was just too sunny and hot, my body was rebelling in that heat. It's hard not to be disappointed, but I know it could have gone a lot worse, and I am proud of myself for pushing through.

It took me a hundred years to get out of the crowds, and Tim and I FINALLY found each other.

Then, the skies opened up and it started POURING. What a lovely day! We walked for a bit to get away from the chaos, and eventually took a cab halfway back to the hotel. I took a very painful shower and then we laid around, me drinking a cider and Tim drinking a beer in bed. It was great! We then met Jenny and Bob and their families for a drink and then Tim and I found the best little Italian restaurant, which had a giant GF menu and was not overly expensive! I drank a martini!

We ended the evening at our now-favorite Irish pub, which had live music and a ton of people. It was SO FUN! Tim kept saying, "These are my people!"

We finally left around 10 (!), I finished up some work (WHICH THEY NEVER PUBLISHED LOL). And right to bed!

Tuesday

We were both up early, and on the road by 7, which was great. Because I was so dehydrated, we only needed one bathroom stop! We picked up Miles around 12:30, and it was SO good to be reunited. I think he missed us.

We were home by 2:30 and had a great team effort to get everything done. Laundry, groceries and a little cooking, before relaxing on the couch with GoT, since I hadn't seen it yet. I have to mention, this was the first intentional rest day I have taken in ten years. The only exercise I did was walk the dog. I have a pretty bad exercise addiction, but I am REALLY working on it. I reminded myself that sitting on an exercise bike or doing the elliptical for 45 minutes would not be enjoyable and what did it matter if I burned an extra 400 calories? SO I took a rest day!

I feel pretty good today, my quads are still a little sore, I went to the pool and swam, as much as I dislike it, I have found it aids in recovery.

I only have a 2.5 day workweek, so I am feeling pretty good.

If you read all this, congrats.