GFH3 Run #1,694; 27 April 2013

There's a singer/songwriter/guitarist who lives in or near Charlottesville named Jan Smith, who's well worth looking up if you like folk music.  She's got one song, "Half the Treasure," that includes the lyric, "Virginia's a jewel in the spring/She's too bright and green/For any king's crown."  That was certainly the case in Loudon County today, where the hash convened in Lovettsville at Richard and Sally's for our nearly-last Saturday meet of the 2012-2013 season.  Jewel green, with splashes of white and pink and yellow, and great swathes of golden sunshine pouring down from a brilliant blue sky, and it was almost like living in a king's crown.  That we were very nearly in West Virginia is practically irrelevant.

After all, if we get treated like this, what do we care how far we had to drive?  Plus, bonus points when we fill up with that cheap LoCo gas!  Sure, there may have been mutters of rebellion when people unfolded stiffened joints from vehicles and confronted the uphill slog to the house, but the hospitality awaiting on the deck, and the gorgeous day, soon had peace love and understanding flowing like wine.

So Richard gathered 35 or so runners and walkers, offered assurances that any running across private property was approved, and introduced the phrase, "YBF."  Funny how Bite Me knew what that meant...  Then most everyone jogged or walked back down the hill, and the runners struck out northwards whilst the walkers turned to the south (mostly).  There were marked trails for turkeys, eagles and walkers ("turtles" someone proposed), and one of the walkers noted, "Wow, they really did a lot of work for this."  I just hope they know how much we appreciate that effort.

Meandering through a crown jewel of an afternoon

The runners got a nice bit of shiggy to dampen their toes, and intersected with the walkers at a point where they all seem to have goofed up pretty badly, allowing them to jog past, mill about near, make abortive dashes in different directions around, etc., a very pretty pond and a few more cows.  Aren't cows lovely?  Anyway, they pounded back up yet another hill (what a lot of hills there are in Lovettsville!) whilst the walkers examined the "YBF" and turned 'round.  Funny moment:  a contingent of walkers decided to check out the beginning of the runners' trail, rather than stick to the out-and-back dirt road recommended, and Gale (who'd abandoned the runners'-trail idea after a late start and a bit of being lost) noted that the trail included a rocky stream, a good deal of mud and some nettles.  Go ahead, try to guess what those walkers chose.

In an apparent misunderstanding about just what constitutes a "turkey," the turkey trail totaled about six miles.  The eagles did about seven and a half.  Beautiful day for it.  Per Blow in the Hole, the eagle was a great trail for a really, really, really, really long time, though the vast field near the end was a bit daunting.  She also mentioned she was very pleased to have listened, at least a bit, to Richard's brief, so she knew what the toilet paper meant.

Back at the ranch, there was some sort of schnitzel, if I've got that right, baked potatoes, salad and potato salad, and a lovely purple cabbage dish.  All the trimmings, Black Box wine, Negra Modela and more, apple pie and ice cream, etc. etc.  And plenty of chairs even though almost no one (guilty here) remembered to bring lawn chairs as requested.  And a giant fire circle to help keep away the gnats.  And our brilliant, magnificent Mufti, wristbanded in advance of his surgery, hollering names and numbers, including the double 4s for Irene and 666 for Flowerkraut.  And they are friends!  ooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhh!

The fire circle - maybe eight feet in diameter? - a hostess and a handful of hashers.

Cobra Queen celebrated a birthday, and the hash celebrated with her, and a few people we don't see often enough got their threes and fours and stuff.  And Richard threw open the hot tub, which is cleverly sunk right into the deck, so you can settle in up to your neck and gaze out upon the distant mountains.  Life could be worse, you know?  You can see just how beautiful everything was in these here pix.