A mackerel sky and burning calories

Bellingham morning's mackerel sky

I saw these cool clouds on my way to the coffee shop last week, after two wonderful days of full sun. And then... the rain returned. I looked up the meaning of these clouds and found that they are called "mackerel skies" because they look a bit like the markings of an adult king mackerel. These altocumulus clouds are also known as "buttermilk skies," which I would prefer if I didn't live around all these fishermen in Bellingham. Here's some information from the above link:

Moisture at lower levels combined with surface temperature instability can lead to rainshowers or thunderstorms should the rising moist air reach this layer (around 8,000-20,000 feet).

We have had pretty constant rain since I saw those clouds, except for a short break on Thursday when we were hiking. It continued to rain most of the day yesterday (Friday), and all night long. I wasn't at all sure whether I would go on the Fairhaven walk this morning, but I woke to find the rain had abated. I joined thirty other walkers for our morning trek, and I used the MotionX-GPS app on my iPhone to track it. My sister introduced me to this app, which tells me how far, how fast, and even gives me the ability to get a track of our walk.

The blue line shows our start and finish, and also told me we walked a brisk 4.2-mph pace for just under five miles. We enjoyed a nice time together afterwards, having coffee at the coffee shop where we started out. That has culminated in three days of getting quite a bit of exercise for me, with Thursday's hike, Friday's workout class plus the aqua Boot Camp, and today's brisk walk. I wobbled out of the Y yesterday feeling like a limp noodle but recovered quickly. This morning's walk gave me another opportunity to enjoy chocolate without feeling guilty.

Tomorrow my friend Judy and I will head to the Mt. Baker Theater to see a repertory theater, Stephen Sondheim's "Company." It is the last day for the show, which is held in the small in-the-round Walton Theater, rather than the larger venue available for bigger events. I've enjoyed shows there before. It should be fun. The website has this to say about the show:

Honest and witty, Company is a sophisticated look at modern relationships. The brilliant energetic score contains many of Stephen Sondheim's best-known songs, including “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “Side by Side by Side,” and “Being Alive.”

Sounds like just the thing to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! I'll be wearing green.
:-)