The cozy barrenness of November

 I just love the cozy barrenness of November. The trees in the neighborhoods still have colored leaves on them, but in the foothills and mountains, the trees are bare, but there are lots of leaves on the ground, and there are still some green grasses poking through.

Yesterday, I opted to go on a fourteen-mile run, which will likely be my last long trail run of the season. I started at North Canyon, took the new Bonneville Shoreline Trail over to Mueller Park, up past Elephant Rock to Rudy's Flat, and then down North Canyon.

It has been almost three months since I've been at the base of North Canyon, which just shows how busy I've been, since it's my default trail. Last time I was there, they were doing construction, but I didn't know what. I was surprised to go yesterday and find a parking lot! I feel conflicted: I'm glad to see North Canyon get the love it deserves. But I also worry it might make it busier, especially since there appear to be spots for horse trailers. 😬

Anyway, it was a lovely, Novembery run. Parts of the trail were pretty muddy, but most of it was dry enough. It rained slightly around Rudy's Flat, and then my last mile was rainy. Unfortunately, once I hit the 12.5-mile mark, my knee started hurting, and I had to walk most of the last mile and a half. That happens to me more often when I run on streets, but rarely on the trails.

Do you want to see more sexy leg pictures? Y/N

Oh, and while I've been working, in the background I've been putting Thanksgiving prompts into Craiyon, an AI image generator. I was amused with what it came up with for "mincemeat pie" and "green bean casserole."

GAH.

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We're at the penultimate installment of pumpkinundation roundup. 

Trader Joe's Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Tart tasted good at first, but I wouldn't want to eat a lot of it, and I can guarantee it would be gross cold. It definitely tastes like squash. 7/10.

I forgot that I have herbal teas, since they're not great. Trader Joe's Harvest Blend Herbal Tea doesn't have any pumpkin, but it does have an apple flavor. It is nice, if you're into that kind of thing, but I'm not. 6/10.

Yogi Pumpkin Spice Herbal Tea did leave my mouth with a tingly sensation, but it's just hot water with a bit of flavoring. 5/10.

I just noticed that my geriatric parents' pills are in the picture

Cafe Zupas Pumpkin Spice Creme Brulee is not worth the calories. It's caramel on top of an eggy substance with a few spices. It doesn't really taste much like fall to me. 5/10.

Cafe Zupas Turkey Cranberry Panini has turkey, bacon, brie, and cranberry sauce. The bacon is the dominant flavor, so it's not what you expect from a turkey cranberry sandwich. I don't like brie on its own, but it was OK mixed with the other stuff. 7/10.

Cafe Zupas Pumpkin Chorizo Soup has black beans, which is the best part, but otherwise I don't really notice the pumpkin or the chorizo. I learned my lesson a few years ago not to let it get cold before you eat it. It's fine. (And now I keep remembering how awkward I was at the restaurant.) 6/10.

Good & Gather Apple Pie Date and Nut Bar is OK. It has some nice spices, but these are the kind of thing I only snack on while running—I would never want to eat them just as a regular snack. 6/10.

Quest Pumpkin Pie Protein Bar is OK. It doesn't really taste like much of anything. But it delivers a lot of protein for almost no sugar. 6/10.

Good & Gather Pumpkin Spice Instant Oatmeal has crunchy bits, and with pecans on the box, I assumed they were pecans. But no, they're just oats. I wouldn't peg this flavor as pumpkin spice, but it's enjoyable as far as oatmeal goes. 7/10.

I liked the Crave Pecan Pie Cookie, which is shaped like a pie and has pecans. It kind of tastes like pecan pie, but it's hard to replicate the perfection of pecan pie in a medium that is not pie. However, with the sugar coating, some of the pecans were too hard, and I felt like I was going to break a tooth. 8/10.

Spanky's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie tastes like a homemade cookie, and I don't mean that in a necessarily good way. I mean it tasted like it's made by an amateur. It's OK, but it didn't quite taste done. 6/10.

I'm not great at knowing what flavors go together, so I didn't love my version of the Spanky's Turkey Cranberry Sandwich. It was OK. It's not specifically on the menu, so I had to ask about the cranberry sauce. 6/10.

It's easy to overlook the pepitas (pumpkin seeds) in Trader Joe's Pepita Salsa, but it's a passable salsa. 7/10.

Thomas' Cranberry Bagels impart a floral flavor to the soft bagels. I used to only eat these at Christmas, but now I think they're just as suitable for Thanksgiving. 7/10.

Same goes for the Thomas' Cranberry English Muffins, but I think I like them better than the bagels. 8/10.

The Pumpkin Pie Larabar is better than I remembered. But again, I only eat these while running, not just for snacking.

For some reason, they decided to cut my Crown Burgers Cranberry Turkey Sandwich, which made it harder to keep all the stuff in the bun. Why did they do that? And I would rather have regular bread than a hamburger bun. It was OK. I got this at the Millcreek location; I don't think they have it at the North Temple location. 6/10.

The Cutler's Turkey Stuffing Cranberry Sandwich does a better job at capturing the holiday flavor, since they also add stuffing. But mine didn't taste as good this time—maybe because I ordered it a half sandwich, so they didn't fill it as much? 8/10.

The Cutler's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie was fine. It benefitted from the frosting. 7/10.

I was eager to try the Baskin-Robbins Turkey Day Fixins Ice Cream, which has sweet potato ice cream with cranberry sauce and cornbread bits. I love the idea of this ice cream more than I love the actual flavor. I heard some people describe it as a savory ice cream, but I don't think of cranberry sauce or cornbread as savory, and sweet potatoes literally have "sweet" in their name. But even though the flavors aren't savory, my brain expects them to be paired with savory things (since I usually have cranberry sauce on turkey). But I'm really happy this exists. 7/10.

Trader Joe's Riced Cauliflower & Butternut Sqush Risotto has cauliflower "rice" with squash pieces. I really enjoyed this low-calorie snack/meal. 7/10.