Becoming a bookworm

Since my commute to work is relatively short, and our grocery store is just outside the apartment building, I have plenty of free time to study and read. The city library is great. I've been taking full advantage of it, filling the evenings with international news, science journals, thought provoking books. I just finished a book about global warming, called "Six degrees" which was a bit frightening and now I'm in the middle of "The Ages of Gaia", biography of the planet that looks at life on Earth as one, self regulating organism. The author, James Lovelock walks through each eon showing how each successive wave of organisms unintentionally moderated the temperatue, atmosphere, geology and conditions to sustain life. It's a bit dense, but entertaining and inspiring.

Speaking of atmosphere changes, Norway's season are quite dramatic. Fall has finally arrived in full force and the ground is covered in colorful leaves. Now the tops of the trees are starting to show bare branches and the tree outside our balcony is suddenly barren except for a few hanging seed pods, ready to drop.

It's raining more and more which intensifies the waterfalls near our apartment and up in the NordMarka. Along the river you can see old flour mills or factories from the turn of 19th century, now transformed into office buildings or apartments. Last weekend on a run with the running club we came across a glassy lake at the base of a gushing fall at least 50 feet tall. The sun broke out for just a moment illuminating the bright leaves agains the slate gray rocks and the black bark.

The pace of my running has slowed down because it takes so much effort to avoid all the puddles and streams on the rocky trails. Some of the more experienced runner just laugh and plow straight ahead through muddy streams up to their calves. If you're shoes are already wet, it doesn't make much of a difference. And at some point, I have to just give in and get soggy. As the Norwegians say, there is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. But perhaps they should say that there is no such thing as bad weather, just unwaranted hesitation.