Festival of Lights - Part One

First night time run of the 2011-12 Xmas Light Season.


I've done a morning run or two since Thanksgiving, which is when folks traditionally fire up the Yuletide decorations, but ITTET not many people are leaving them on all night long. So, I figured that hitting the road at 7PM would be PRIME viewing time!

For whatever reason [the seven concussions maybe] I don't remember taking this route last year ... frankly, I was disappointed.


I expected that the houses "back there" would have been lit up a lot more severely; being set further off the road, a lot more wattage would seem necessary to say "HEY!!! LOOK AT ME!!!" but no ... they were - for the most part - rather tame, conservative and quite nice.

Only ONE house went for Full "Game Show" but just missed, since the dozens of strings of multicolored lights, which highlighted every edge, bend or random architectural detail of the home, failed the "Price Is Right" Test my not blinking in sequence ... they didn't even blink AT ALL!!! Why Bother, people???

The only other house of note had so many illuminated deer, angels, snowmen and polar bears on the lawn that it looked like a Harry Potter Patronus Convention.


Anticipating some more rainy weather, I wore a L/S poly shirt which finally paid off when the wind kicked up and the drizzle ramped up in my final mile; until that point, I was pretty overdressed [with the addition of the Reflecto-Vest] and kinda toasty. I got damped enough to feel kinda badass coming back into the Development.


Y’know what, though? I really gotta get a headlamp


I thought I knew my way around back there between developments pretty well, even in the dark. A car was approaching, so I drifted myself a little closer to the edge of the road. There are no curbs or sidewalks out that way; the street gives way to an uneven boundary of gravel before the folk's lawns start. It was a rainy night, as I said, so I had to hop over a sandbar that had shoaled up in the stream along the shoulder. I kinda shorted it and stepped about a foot from the end of the "island."

There was a surprising CRACK! and I skidded a little bit [didn't fall, though]

It was a deer carcass ... I'd landed on her rear leg.


I really, REALLY gotta get a headlamp.