New Fitbit

On Tuesday...exactly two weeks after my original Fitbit died...I had a warranty replacement Charge HR Fitbit in my hands (or should I say on my arm?) and working.  The time seemed much longer while I was waiting, but Fitbit actually handled this very swiftly.  Although it took Fitbit technical support a week to respond to me initially, they immediately agreed with my list of troubleshooting efforts and offered to send a replacement if I showed proof of purchase.  Through some miracle I found the receipt.  Fitbit sent the replacement, USPS delivered it, and all is well again.

With or without the Fitbit, I really enjoy our walks.  They continue to be better than one might imagine given the urban/suburban setting and the current less than ideal weather, i.e. heat (high today is expected to be 103 with a temperature humidity index quite a bit higher than that).  The high quality walking is primarily due to the extensive paved trail system in Highland Village.  As good as it is, the trail system will expand and improve considerably once Double Tree Ranch Park is finished later this summer or fall.  With the current trails, we tend to rotate among three different loops we have cobbled together that range from about 3.8  to 6.5 miles in length. 

No matter which trail, we almost always see something interesting.  The spring wildflowers along City Trail are now long gone, but we see many birds.  There are the large complement of normal suburban birds, but we even occasionally see roadrunners in the large open spaces.   There are also numerous Mississippi kites, which were new to us.  They have a profile reminiscent of a falcon as they slowly soar looking for insects.  Although we have seen them routinely while walking this summer, they apparently will soon be departing for South America.

Mississippi kite hawk

We occasionally see turtles.  Squirrels are everywhere, especially on the bird feeders.  We used to see multiple rabbits, but then stopped seeing them as often about the time we saw a coyote on two different days.

Unfortunately I seem to have developed a mild case of runner's knee.  This is in spite of the fact that my knee has not been involved in any running activity for years.  I am cutting back to the shorter walks for a few days and am now using a knee brace, both of which seem to be helping.   Hopefully this is only a temporary setback and won't cause major interruptions to exploring the trails.