Hiking time: 56 minutes and 52.90 seconds. Front yard to right on cul-de-sac to right on Stevens Way to left on 99th Dr, to left on Idleman, to left on 92nd Ave, to left on Stevens Way to right into cul-de-sac to next door neighbors' flowers. Took 86 photos all hand-held and all with the 75-300mm, of which 44 made the cut. The strong telephoto lets me take intimate photos on residential front yards without stepping on the property and getting shot in the process. Dogwoods are peaking, and we discovered a dogwood tree on our own property. Didn't notice last year.

All I wanted to do today was test out a new sock combination on my new Danner hiking boots, and I finally broke the code: three layers of socks, innermost thin silk liners, next light weight hikers, finally heavy weight trekkers. No slipping, still plenty of room to move my toes, very comfortable, and my new oval shaped waterproof replacement laces did not work loose even though I didn't double knot. So foot-wise, everything is now perfect and I'm ready for a 14 miler tomorrow that will climb something like 3,000 feet: Herman Creek to the cedar grove at 7 miles. I never dreamed that I'd be able to do this hike again. Still remains to be proven. Hopefully it won't be a nightmare, or even worse, a failure.