Every weekday when I am working from my office I try to get there early and spend my first hour walking. In fact when I don’t do this I find my day doesn’t go as well. That early walk is a great time for my brain to wander and for me to simply enjoy the scenery. It helps me keep everything in perspective, I think. This may be true in part because I have the privilege of walking by the Columbia River at sunrise, and it is a glorious sight.
note the duck wakes!
A lot of my neighbors have horses. I hadn’t appreciated just how many before I started walking regularly. One on my street will ride her horses on the canal edge across from our home and when we have the windows open we sometimes hear him whinny as they go by. While I was out recently she was riding him – I was too far away to catch up and ask for a photo this time, but I did get this picture as she rode him to a nearby field to let him run a bit. It’s not a fabulous photo, but I like the sunlight and framing of the horse. I also enjoyed watching him gallop in the field.
click for large version. It’s better.
During the holidays I was gearing up to go out for my daily walk, something my husband has gotten used to me doing. This time he started to put on his shoes and I was surprised. He has some back and joint issues that make long distance walking, and certainly at the pace I do it, not truly feasible. But he wanted to go with me – so I suggested a change in route and that we walk to our local pub and then back, thus having a built-in break at a place we both enjoy hanging out. He thought that was an even better idea, of course.
So off we went. We walked a slower pace than I do alone, but probably similar to what most people would walk. Under a mile in he remarked it was further than he thought – and I was very glad I had suggested what I had! The walk to the pub by a direct route is only a bit over 1.5 miles. That’s a really short walk by my standards!
A bit later he said something much more profound.
Yes. They do. You’re moving slower and you have more time to notice things around you – and you can stop and investigate more closely if you want to. We live in an interesting area; it’s residential and rural simultaneously. We said hello to the steer we passed by (they watched but did not respond). We saw all sorts of birds. We saw more damage from the windstorm – many trees fallen over.
When we were ready to head home he picked a slightly longer route that involved a road I hadn’t walked on before. It has fast become a favorite – we saw goats (big goats!), chickens (also big!), and more cattle. We saw an enormous flock of birds cleaning up residual corn from a large field – when they flew together the noise was impressive. And we saw this building, which I think looks really cool.
Why this survived the wind when other things didn’t is a bit of a mystery (though the angled boards are likely the major part of the answer). I can’t quite make out what the roof once said and it’s possible this wasn’t a business anyway, but just a building that made money letting a business advertise on its roof in farm country. It has a story, and I don’t really want to know it. I like that it’s there. It gives me a nice feeling and I don’t know why.
I’ve decided I will try to get more pictures of the things I enjoy seeing while I walk and share them here. Sometimes I will venture out with my “real” camera in tow maybe even along with tripod (but remember, I’m on foot for many miles!), and other times we’ll be stuck with what I can manage on my cell phone (which honestly can be pretty good sometimes). I hope you enjoy seeing what I see!
I take a lot of walks around my neighborhood. I’m very familiar with the sidewalks – and I have a personal favorite. I’m sure that sounds odd, but it’s true. Clearly this particular sidewalk concrete was poured in the autumn, and then a lot of leaves fell. Instead of erasing the evidence, the impressions are still there. Finally one day I took my camera with me so I could take photos of the fossil-leaves with the newly fallen leaves. I hope you enjoy them.
@KellyOSullivan 