Fit Bitten

I'm finding that Fitbit actually is an incentive. I got off the couch today and went out for a walk. Back to Webster and North Ponds Park. The sun was bright and the path dry. Two more loops around the park. Maybe next time I'll make it three.

I call these Fluff Twuff Weeds because I like Dr, Seuss.

More dog walkers. I might need to find a dog myself if I keep going here.

Not everyone was walking. Some were sitting still and talking.

Just two of way too many. They were kind today.

I do love orchard walks, but not alone. Orchard walks require a friend and I was walking alone again today. The drive to Webster for a safer place to walk is worth taking. Supposed to snow tomorrow. *sigh* Good thing I have mittens.

3X Thursday

I have now walked the loop twice thrice. (Three days in a row I walked the loop at North Ponds twice.) I found this group of ducks on Tuesday.

1. What is the last picture you took with your phone?

2. Have you ever been pulled over by the police?

3. Are you Irish? Do you pretend to be on St. Patrick's Day? Are you eating corned beef today?

J is for Jump

J is for jump. (Warning: not for the overly squeamish.)

Catching mice includes a lot of jumping and dancing about...

More ABC Wednesday.

If the Shoe Fits...

It's not really a shoe, it's a wristband. My Minnesota son, daughter in law, and grandson sent me a Fitbit for my birthday. (It was an early birthday present.) After repeated and unsuccessful efforts to connect the receiver it finally synced with my computer on Monday night and I am now counting steps. After spending so much of the last year sitting, I'm finding it a great incentive to get myself moving. I even parked way out there in the parking lot at work yesterday.

I had some time between our prayer group at church and work yesterday, so I stopped in Webster at North Ponds and walked two loops around the park. Each loop is one mile. Of course I carried my camera just in case anything wonderful caught my attention.

It was overcast and threatening rain, but not terribly cold or wet. I pulled my dad's windbreaker on over my sweater and started off. I met some fowl fellas along the way. They tried to look brave and threatening, but I paid them no mind and just kept walking. I suppose when they actually have little ones to protect they might be a little more intimidating, but for now the biggest concern is not stepping in goose poop.

I stopped to walk again today. While those with little dogs were out yesterday, today's dogs were mostly of a large or medium variety. I walked the loop in the opposite direction today, to unwind my legs, and passed the same walkers every half mile. After walking the first half I began to wonder if I would make it twice around. (Yes, I am that out of shape and my knee is giving me pain) But I pushed on and found the second loop not any more difficult than the first.

Tuesday Treasures

Farm markets and antique shops. I love them. Though I rarely make a purchase, I love looking. My friend Deborah and I were out to Hurd Orchards last October and found a few treasures lurking about. An old tractor graced the back lawn,, rusty and forlorn, yet undeniably attractive. One of the outbuildings held treasures of another kind. An old stove, rusty pie pans, lanterns, and forgotten shutters. Child sized chairs hung from the rafters, and several old steamer trunks waited in a corner. Treasures from days gone by.

Tuesday Treasures with Tom

(I'll be linking up when I get back home to my computer.

The Very Sleepy Day

It's been a terribly sleepy weekend. I don't nap on a regular basis, but both Saturday and Sunday found me asleep on the couch, and not just a light sleep. It was a deep, deep slumber from which I awoke groggy and disoriented. If truth be told, I took two naps yesterday and didn't have a problem sleeping at night either. (It's scaring the Cabinet Maker... but it happens every year.)

Yesterday, between naps, we took a ride out to the Chimney Bluffs to deliver a set of sliding glass doors. I took my camera along in case I should spot anything fascinating.

Lake Ontario at Chimney Bluffs

Chimney Bluffs from just outside the park

Lake erosion behind the cottages on East Bay Road

An old hornet's nest. I walked right past without seeing it the first time. They're pretty interesting to look at when you know the hornets aren't lurking nearby.

And a tiny nest on the ground near an evergreen tree. See the teeny, tiny pine cones?

The Barn Collective

Old barns fall down. One never knows when they will give up the ghost and collapse into a broken heap. This former beauty is on Ridge Road in Ontario, NY

Last time I drove by part of the roof had caved in and she was looking pretty rough.

The Barn Collective

Sleepy, Sunny Saturday

I woke up early this morning and went off to our once a month Ladies' Bible study in Webster. I'd planned to take another walk with my sister afterward and have her husband take a look at my laptop, but my cell phone wasn't working and I was feeling almost teary. (Which had nothing to do with the stubborn cell phone.) Instead of turning right at the light, I changed my mind, turned the opposite direction, and headed back toward home. It's been an emotional roller coaster kind of week. Sleepless nights and raw emotions caught up with me, and something about the look at "barrenness" in the study made me long to go home.

Back home in the kitchen I opened the fridge. An repulsive odor tumbled out (This has been the norm lately...) and I decided the mostly empty appliance was ripe for a cleaning. Questionable objects, unidentified furry creatures, and outdated containers found a new home in the trash. Shelves were removed and wiped down, and soon the old girl was sparkling once again. (Okay, maybe not quite "sparkling" but it is clean and fresh smelling once again.) 

The sunshine outside beckoned but something inside pulled my head down onto a couch pillow. It wasn't long before the world slipped away and slumber descended. Even an hour later I had a hard time shaking the sleepiness from my mind and body, but I picked myself up, pulled on coat and boots and headed out into the yard. A short time later I was back in the house making a pot of coffee.

Just Keep Walking

Wednesday morning, before heading into work for the afternoon, my sister and I went for a walk. The sun was bright, the air warm, and the roads dry. We walked about 2 miles through her neighborhood and I found sitting through the afternoon at work easier just knowing I'd gotten a bit of fresh air and exercise.

A cloud of rain descended upon us Wednesday evening rendering yesterday not the ideal day for a walk. However, by mid afternoon the Cabinet Maker looked out the window and asked, "What do you think about putting on some boots and going for a walk?" Off we traipsed into a slight drizzle, across the back lawn, and into the rain soaked orchard. On our way to the orchard road we chanced upon our runaway Christmas tree resting beneath the branches of a bedraggled old apple tree.

Puddles were abundant and mud sometimes thick and slippery. I realized how long it's been since I actually stepped into the gooey stuff on purpose and how often I intentionally step around it. How funny that it actually felt good to feel my foot slide just a tad underneath me. For a minute I tried to decide what I might do if I actually went down and from then on stepped a bit more carefully, albeit still through the mud. By the time we arrived back home and came into the house a fog was settling over the land. The warm air temperature combined with the near freezing temperatures of Lake Ontario was creating a thick white blanket as we had headed home and a gaggle of geese squawked overhead as I settled onto the couch and wished for an afternoon cup of decaf which I never made.

3X Thursday

Choosing questions is hard. I hope these generate at least a little bit of conversation, because conversation is what it's all about.


1. Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?

2. How many pairs of shoes do you own? (It's been asked repeatedly and always makes me think of Kristina's original post. Please visit.)

3. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

I is for Imagine

I happened this morning upon an old blog post that fits the letter "I" perfectly, and so I am cheating today. A little post from this day in 2010...

Spring is making a valiant attempt at arrival. The skies have been sunny and clear for several days, the temperatures mild. The snow is melting and it was a wonderful day for a walk.

Since I was unable to take two sleeping, bootless girls out for a mud walk, I decided to go on an imaginary walk by myself. (Bear with me here. I don't get out much...) I pulled on my boots and jacket, and trudged through the thick, slushy snow in the back yard and made my way to the orchard road. The trees were naked and cold looking, and I could see all the way to the lake from the top of the hill.

The Canada geese had left web-footed footprints in the soggy ground near the snow-covered pond. Though I had previously heard loud honking, the flock was nowhere to be found, only scattered feathers and goose droppings in the mud and snow.

Down a row of apple trees I met a stranger. I know better than to walk in the orchard alone, so I asked if he would accompany me but he just stared and waved me on without saying a word. A rather cold fellow I decided.

Though the sun shone bright, there was still a bitter, cold wind blowing off Lake Ontario. My ears were starting to ache deep inside and I put my mittened hands over them to warm them up and turned for home.

I was glad to get back inside and sit by the wood stove with a cup of hot tea. The girls were just starting to stir. One of them opened her eyes and said, "Martha, I'm hungry."

More "I" at ABC Wednesday.

Tummy Mountain Comes to Play

I like blog friends. They are fun. Tummy Mountain arrived just this afternoon from all the way across the ocean!!! We are just about to have tea.
:0)

The Barn Collective

I haven't been out collecting barn photos lately, but I do have a few favorites in my existing collection. I can hardly drive through the Finger Lakes without being taken in by one or two...

Arbor Road, Ontario, NY
The tree has since been removed from the silo

Rt 54A PennYan, NY

Muck Rd. Gorham, NY

Skeletal Remains
Somewhere out toward Geneseo or Mt Morris, NY about 2 years ago. I imagine it's gone by now as it looks almost as if it was being purposely disassembled.

Somewhere between Keuka Lake and Canandaigua Lake (I think)

It looked like a flock of birds had just flown over....

Somewhere between Prattsburg and Naples, NY

The Barn Collective

Sunny Skies and Little Games

It's been an average day. I haven't done anything special or out of the ordinary. Washed a load of laundry, sorted through a box of old papers, washed the dishes... Normal kinds of stuff.

Yesterday I went to visit my sweet daughter. The sun was bright and inviting, the roads clear and dry. We intended to take a walk, but she thought it was too cold, so we spent an hour or two chatting and drinking tea. Good mom and daughter conversations are never a waste of time.

My  #7 grandchild and I played a game yesterday afternoon while his daddy caught up on a bit of missed sleep. A few years back I had a great couple of carpet tubes perfect for sending Matchbox cars through. They're both gone now, so I set an old table leaf against his toy box and we drove cars down the hill. A simple game. One I remember my sisters and I playing many years ago. (More often than not we used it as a slide....)

This morning when my little friend came down for the day, I could tell he had an idea. It was just the way he looked at me and walked into the living room. Sure enough. He wanted to drive cars down the old table leaf hill again.

3X Thursday

Some questions to make you ponder, if you're into that kind of thing.





1. What is one item that you really should throw away, but probably never will?

2. What are the things that stand between you and complete happiness?

3. What will people say at your funeral?

H is for "Hello"

H is for "Hi" and "Hello".

This came to mind as I greeted people as I went into work at the nursing home today, but the point was hammered home as I sat with my friend. She cannot see and is often anxious. In her anxiety she constantly calls out, "Hello?" I answer patiently for the first couple of hours, but after just so many replies I begin to get creative, or stop answering every call. (Eight hours can be a long time...)

I attempted to engage her in conversation after lunch. "Tell me about your horses," I ventured.

"My divorces?" she replied.

"I said 'horses,'" I told her.

"Oh," she said, "I thought you wanted to hear about my divorces."

"Do you have some of those too?" I asked.

"No," she lied.

Join us for ABC Wednesday.

Tuesday Treasure (on Wednesday)

I am checking in a little late with my Tuesday Treasure entry. I was gone all day yesterday and had to dig up these photos in old files and folders. A few years ago the Cabinet Maker sold an old truck (back to its original owner) and as part of the bargain, gained an old 1948 Chrysler Windsor. He thought it would make a great project, but had severely underestimated the amount of time and money the restoration would take. It would have been fun, but in the end we decided to sell it. (I still love the photos.)

Tuesday Treasures