After turning fifty years old, I always thought life would slow down to a peaceful pace. Being empty-nesters slows the pace quite a bit, but when you add two out-of-state moves within the last four years, it’s unsettling and distracting. Life has not slowed down. Not one bit. Since we started moving around the region, I had forgotten, or didn’t pay attention to, what I need.
Now I think I’m getting it back. Blogging helps me to analyze and organize my thoughts. I'm working on my lazy and disorganized writing skills (on most days...). It forces me to think positively instead of worrying about my next household chore or what tomorrow will bring at the office. Blogging is my time, put aside especially for me. With my camera near me, I notice more. There is a huge landscape out there loaded with beauty and I’m loving it.
Aside from a summer of power walking before I broke the foot, my lifestyle has been pretty much sedentary. I’m looking forward to my two-mile walks again. It will be me and my new Ipod, loaded with music that will keep me moving on a good tempo. Slowly, I’m starting to get moving again.
This week, I've been leaving the office for a thirty-minute hike on a nature trail. This morning it was very cold and I decided early on that I didn’t care to go out today. But I went out later that afternoon, anyway, because I knew I’d regret missing it.
It was difficult to capture good photos today. There’s a large construction site across the street that normally doesn’t cause a problem but the equipment they used caused vibrations under my feet. Joggers passed by while I was focused squarely on a tiny, flitty bird. It would have been a very good photo and I wanted to call that jogger to my attention, “Excuse me, sir, would you mind taking another route? You’re disturbing my photo-shoot.”
In a short time, I've been able to recognize some bird songs, for instance, the sound of a Cardinal. That’s cool. When I hear a new and unfamiliar song high up in a tree, I’m determined to see the singer! No luck today.
This one is way too familiar. Feeder hog. Freeloader. Today I missed a great photo opportunity. I opened my back door after arriving home from work to see at least a dozen Doves, Sparrows, Cardinals and others bathing in my pond and quenching their thirst on my waterfall. Damn! But hey, there’s always tomorrow!
7 comments:
I'm so happy you got out for a walk today - your photos are beautiful! I have soooo many missed bird photo ops it isn't funny. But like you said, there's tomorrow.
And blogging has helped me appreciate the place I find myself located in at this moment in time, too! I'm glad it's doing the same for you. We're all in this together - very cool!
Oh, and it's fun learning the bird songs - I'm right there with you on that, too! I love hearing my cardinals and chickadees - they're like my old friends!
"Blogging is my time, put aside especially for me. With my camera near me, I notice more." That sentence really hit me. I said nearly the same thing to a colleague as we were driving back from a career fair today.
Great photos by the way, and congratulations on getting back into walking again. I love to walk, but have a rotten ankle that prevents me from going as far or as fast as I want/need to. I am getting a recumbant bike, but I know that it won't do what walking outside does for me. I need the exercise though, so it will have to do for now.
I am so glad you are enjoying getting out there and seeing birds and walking and trying to get pictures of the feathery little devils.
My blog is my time, too. But I tend to stay up way too late.
Blogging has enticed me to get out with my camera and live instead of just slogging through life. (and a blog helped me find RAPTOR, the newest love of my life).
Isn't the Internet just the coolest? I found Laura (well, she found me), Pam, Lynne, Liza Lee, Julie, Bill, Sharon, and YOU!
I'm glad you got out to walk today too and I always look foreward to seeing and reading what you have to share! I have so enjoyed this blogging experience and although I am quite self-concious about my (lack of!) writing skills, everyone has made me feel welcome and I have made some terrific friends along the way!
sheesh! your verification word is
otdatcwa
I find that the blogging helps me in much the same way it does you. We'll leave aside that when I turn 50, I'll have teenagers to deal with at home still. Sigh.
I love mourning doves but they don't come to my feeders so the only freeloaders I have are the squirrels and they are freeloader enough for me, thank you!
You will stay forever young as you pursue new interests and challenges. Blogging...great for the mind, walking...great for the body!
A mourning dove at a feeder, and being a hog, no less! They're strictly ground feeders in my yard, somebody has to clean up all that spilled seed! Here they're very polite dinner guests and I hardly know they're there until I hear the "creak" of their wings as they fly off. Very nice photos.
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