A Hummingbird Misogi

Every have one of those to-dos that stares you in the face and it just hangs around and around and around? In my latest situation it was an item on my read list. It has been there since 2019, finally got it as gift this last Christmas and then dragged it on two long trips out west and managed to get through maybe 2 chapters at best. Got back, put it on my nightstand, said goodnight to it every night and promised to turn the pages ….the next night. Even more embarrassing it was about building good habits and breaking bad one. The book – Atomic Habits by James Clear (link here). In my defense, I was keeping up on his thought provoking emails in the midst of this (think he stopped sending those or I got dropped somehow through 2025). My summary, probably would have been more useful while I was still in the grind as my “habits” have shifted a bit and maybe honing them isn’t as critical. I do like the core principles, Make it Obvious, Make it Attractive, Make it Easy and Make it Satisfying, however, my big takeaway was his take on boredom . “Anyone can work hard when they feel motivated. It’s the ability to keep going when work isn’t exciting that makes the difference. Professionals stick to the schedule; amateurs let life get in the way“. That rang absolutely true with me as I always tell people my superpower is the ability to grind in work (formerly) and sport (ultras). Overall, not a bad read, although, I would recommend first consuming my favorite book – Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter (link here) or Do Hard Things by Steve Magness (link here). Those two offerings pretty much summarize my long held outlook on life.

Steve focuses on developing mental toughness and Michael challenges you to participate in activities you have a 50% chance of absolute failure even with focused training (misogi)…and now you know why I do the things I do ha. Why bring all this up..well, because I am about to do something in this post that is hard, which I should make more of a habit of and yes, there is high probability of failure. Today we are taking on the female Hummingbirds!

Violet-Crowned Hummingbird  captured March 2025 at Paton Center for Hummingbirds

Before digging into this, I found myself quoting Theron from 300: “This will not be over quickly, you will not enjoy this, you suck at female Hummers“…or something like that. Hit the jump to see the fruits of my misery ha.

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Just Waiting on a Flame

Nothing like getting in just under the wire. We’ve come to the end of another month or as we say here at Intrigued, officially HT-2 – only TWO months before the annual Haunted Trail event. We have been working hard on creating props, new power solutions and trail prep since we made it home from our western foray, but now the pressure really starts to build. Sleep is becoming a luxury even before mixing in this month’s stepped up run training cycle. I would liken it to being back in the corporate grind if it wasn’t so damn fun hahaha. Oh, speaking of a physical “grind”, the Intrigued family extend their best wishes for “happy feet”, clear skies, cool temps and emotional fortitude to Jan (and Brad) during their annual charity event. I will let Brad comment more on that at a later time – fingers crossed they are not getting the current downpour going on here.

Now let’s get to today’s featured feathered friend and put a wrap on this month’s colorful theme!

Anna's Hummingbird found at Santa Rita Lodge, Madera Canyon, AZ in March 2025

Watching Hummers go passing by
It ain’t the latest thing
I’m just standing in a blind
I’m just trying to make some sense
Out of these Hummers that passing by
The tales they tell of nectar
I’m not waiting on a lady
I’m just waiting on a [male to] flame

Yes, I took some liberties on a classic song, but that was me in March of 2025. Hit the jump to learn more.

Continue reading Just Waiting on a Flame