Dragonflies and Disney Princes after a South Florida Workout

There are certain things that I allow to end a workout early.

Rain, but it has to be substantial.  If I see that The Park that I workout in is under a green blob on Radar, I won't leave to get there.  If it is a big storm it is a no-go, little pop up showers are worth a chance.

High winds.  Today we had that, winds gusting to 25 MPH/40 KPH.  That picked up the sand from the beach and blew it west, inland.  It created a sandblasting effect that would wear you down.

High Heat.  I'm in South Florida, working out at Pompano Airpark.  26.247 degrees North, 80.111 degrees West.  I am used to heat.  If it drops below 80F/26C I feel "cool".  I only run the air conditioning to 76F/24C here, but it is on as a default for about 11 1/2 months in the year.

It went from Warm to Hot in an hour today.  That coupled with a rain shower and moderate to high winds, it made the last lap an uncomfortable trip.  It was a full workout of 28.19 miles.  45.36 km.

But I was wiped out and welcomed that second bottle of ice water at the Jeep.

Going home was more rain.

The rain does bring benefits.  This being The Tropics, or Tropics Adjacent depending on what your definition is, we get lots of bugs.  Rain brings Mosquitoes, and sometimes Termite swarms.  It also brings, a day after that, Dragonflies to eat the Mosquitoes and Termites.  It also feeds the little lizards and anoles that you see stuck to walls near a light.

 If you have a rain, you want to turn off the outdoor lighting for the next day or so to let the Termites find a different home.  In Florida there are two kinds of people, those that have Termites, and those who will have Termites.

I was fortunate.  Rack, the McNab SuperDog (TM) has a habit of dragging me out to the backyard about every 90 minutes during the day.  I made my lunch, then nodded off after the morning workout.  He was due to go out.  I needed to shake the drowsy off.  Waking up at 330 AM is going to pretty much require that you have an afternoon nod off, and I have been getting up early to get in an early morning workout for decades.  

I let the old boy wander the yard and look for anything he could find.  While he did that, I looked over the Bougainvillea and spotted a Dragonfly.  It was seemingly asking to have its picture taken and now I can see why people have jewelry made to look like them.  Black and yellow iridescent body with translucent wings perched on a branch in front of a flower.

It stayed there long enough to get the pictures, and for Rack to put a wet nose on my knee.  

It was time to go back inside.  It is also time to put away the black and dark shirts for the summer.  You would be surprised how fast a faded black-to-charcoal t-shirt turns to uncomfortably hot.

I have joked that my yard turns me into a Disney Prince.  I have all sorts of wildlife that visit.  My milkweed that was growing in a semi-sheltered place now had 3 monarch caterpillars on it.  Luckily I have the seeds from a prior bloom and am scattering them all over the neighborhood.

Passing the future monarchs, I went inside.  It was warm, peak of the day.  But it is just the month of May so it will get hotter.  

Hydrate when you go outside.  I know I do.  And use sunblock.  Frequently.