Quite frankly, I do
not like the month of January. It is usually
too cold for much outside time, I cut back if not stop my daily walks
altogether, and I start feeling the aches and pains of my winter sedentary life
- ugh!
I just could
not endure staying inside one moment longer.
I put on my hooded sweatshirt, my
down work jacket, my combo knitted scarf and hat (which I absconded from
Becky), my combo knitted gloves/mittens, grabbed my camera and was almost ready
to head outside.
Shoes. What was I going to wear on my feet? My rubber boots are too uncomfortable for any
kind of distance and my worn out Nikes are too smooth and thread bare for the
elements that I was about to encounter. I rummaged through my closet and found a
supportive pair of shoes, complete with deep treads, that I haven’t worn in
over one year. I just hoped they would
not hurt my feet.
I started my walk.
The ground was solidly
frozen, except for a sliver of mud that frosted my path. It was enough mud to cause
slipping. I hate to fall, so my stride
quickly slowed from toddler to baby steps.
Every step was hazardous in my mind.
But, I was determined to accomplish a winter walk. My shoe choice was perfect -efficient,
comfortable and much safer than my slick-soled Nikes.
I was going to keep
my walk short, but the weather was so relaxing - cold, just at freezing, but
with no wind - I was dressed well, so I decided to make my usual hike. Peace surrounded me, as well as four dogs who
all decided to behave today.
At one point, I came
upon an electric gate. I knew it was HOT
because the cattle were grazing on the opposite side. I could not figure out how to effortlessly
open the gate, so I opted to crawl under the hot wire on my hands and
knees. I got slightly muddy, but I was
where I wanted to be without much exertion.
The dogs watched and wondered, totally animated with tilted heads, what I was doing. In their minds, a gate…simply run under or
jump over - easy.
As I neared the pond,
the late afternoon serenity became more apparent. I was enveloped with quiet. Nothing stirred
except for me and my companions.
The pond was still
covered in snow, a dusting from the previous day, and parts were definitely frozen
to some degree. My favorite heron was nowhere
to be seen. For that matter, no birds
were around. The quiet was so peculiar.
I returned home with
three dogs…somewhere along the line I misplaced Avalanche (she has a habit of
secretly wandering off), and with no falls.
 |
| Buddy is rarely without a stick. He carried this BIG one on the entire walk with the hopes that I would play 'Fetch'. NO WAY! One throw of that stick would surely put my arm out. |
I guess I should
rethink my January outings. Today was tranquil and well worth the effort for a
bit of winter exercise.
A January walk is not
as bad as I had anticipated.
I will try it again
soon.
