Tag Archives: walking

Fully in Bloom

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I was out for my walk yesterday when I saw the neighbor’s Argentine Giant Cactus was blooming. So, of course I turned around to get my camera from home and set out again. In our little park was another one in bloom. I took photos all around the neighborhood, enjoying the sights of Spring cactus blossoms.

There were lots of bees. I was lucky enough to capture this guy on a cactus bud.

Here’s a close up of the beautiful Argentine Giant blossom taken with my 105 mm lens. In fact, all the photos on this page are taken with that lens.

I love the color of this blossom.

This was at the neighbor’s house. We have one Argentine Giant Cactus and it was one lone blossom in bloom yesterday, gone today.

At the park.

This purple beavertail cactus has a beautiful yellow flower. I wondered why some beavertail are green and others yellow. This is what I found out:

Beavertail cacti (Opuntia basilaris) turn purple primarily as a stress response to cold temperatures, intense sun, or drought, acting as a natural sunscreen. This purple pigment, known as anthocyanin, protects the plant’s cells from damage, making the color change most intense during winter or arid conditions.

I also learned there are purple varieties including one called Purple Desert.

Here’s to a happy Monday and week ahead. What’s on your schedule for this week?

Giving the boot

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Red and Mrs. are back to a normal routine in our backyard. Maybe this spring we’ll have some baby Reds?

Yesterday was a Red Letter Day — plus I got the photo above of Red! I went to my post op appointment with my favorite surgeon. My surgery on my foot was a little over two weeks ago. The dressing and sutures were removed. Yay! I finally get a look at my “elective foot” as Tippy Gnu from Chasing Unicorns called it. (That’s in reference to the procedure first denied by our insurance company. They said it wasn’t medically necessary.) Like I wrote before, what is necessary about walking and wearing shoes?

My foot is black, blue and swollen. The bright news? I wore flip flops out of the doctor’s office instead of the infamous boot.

Here’s the boot from last June, post ankle surgery.

The infamous boot where it sits today until next time.

I would love to toss the boot into the trash. But my surgeon said I may need to have a follow up surgery in the distant future if I have pain. I’ve placed the boot in my closet up on a shelf where Olive the cat would sit and watch birds.

I’m excited to get out of the house and I’m meeting my lunch bunch at Kiki Rae’s. It’s a cute restaurant in Cave Creek with Pacific Northwest specialities like clam chowder, fish and chips and steamers. They even serve Seattle Dogs which are hot dogs with cream cheese and caramelized onions. As a native of the PNW, it’s a treat to have a restaurant serving my favorite foods from childhood and college.

My lunch bunch are two friends from my previous life in Palm Springs, pre kids. They were graphic designers I worked with in my PR Days. When I moved to Arizona a friend told me to look them up — they moved here 10 years before me. We’re all within a few miles of each other and meet up for lunch several times a year.

Here’s to giving the boot to the boot, regular visits by Red and feeling better!

What are some of your favorite foods from your childhood?

Do you have traditional or specific foods that are unique to your area?

Road Runner, the coyote’s after you!

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We had a road runner hanging out right next to our sliding glass doors. I managed to get photos and a video with my iphone. I went to get my real camera and of course when I came back, he was gone!

I had good news at my appointment with the surgeon Friday. I was told I was healing well, could take walks as long as I want, and I can swim and drive.

Saturday morning I took my first walk. I kept it short because I decided it was good to take it easy and not overdo it. The surgeon gave me an ankle brace and told me no more boot! Woohoo. After my walk, where I will admit, I was huffing and puffing and terribly out of shape (How does that happen in seven weeks?) I drove myself to the grocery store. Then I got in the pool.

I picked up mail, did laundry and cooked. Sunday I was sore and tired. I may have kept the walk short, but I ended up overdoing it in spite of being cautious. I think I was overly excited to be cut loose and free!

Video of the roadrunner. He found something tasty outside on the patio. Not sure what it was.

If you’ve been injured, did you lose fitness quickly? Or were you able to retain your level of fitness?

Sights from my backyard

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Friday I went to see my surgeon and she removed my cast! YAY! Then she put me in a heavy duty boot and told me to use my walker and walk around the house and outside with 50% weight on my right leg. The other thing she said was I could take a shower beginning Sunday with no huge plastic sleeve topped with saran wrap on my leg. WOOHOO!

It’s the little things like semi-walking and taking a shower that are making my days!

Part of my morning routine, after coffee and writing three pages, is to venture outside. I sit for about 45 minutes to an hour watching and listening to my birds. I also listen to the Hallow app on my phone. I’m listening to a podcast on it called “Bible in a Year.” I’m on day 180. I find this to be a peaceful and helpful way to approach my day. I was so over being laid up last Thursday that I didn’t want to do anything. Getting outside plus listening to this app and my birds has helped me over the hump.

Here are a few sights from my backyard:

Here’s a honeysuckle I took with my iphone while sitting outside.

Here’s a selfie of me in my sundress and boot with my walker.

Aloe in bloom next to honeysuckle.

One lone blossom on top of a saguaro.

What little things or moments in your day make it special?

Remembering Olive

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Kitten Olive with her best friend Angus, may they both rest in peace.

It’s been a sad few days for me. But I’m forcing myself to go outside and walk. I also spent time going through all the Olive photos on my iphone. I’m sharing some of my favorites here today.

Olive enjoying the Palm Springs lifestyle.

angry kat shreds tp
Olive in a negative mood

Olive found herself locked in the car. I have no idea how that happened. She was deathly afraid of cars and hated them.

A picture taken by my daughter on one of Olive’s first days with us.

Below is Olive enjoying indoor/outdoor life in Palm Springs.

Indoor Arizona life.

My favorite photo of Olive.

Closet cruising.

A stowaway in my suitcase.

My pretty kitty.

One of Olive’s favorite things to do. Harass the quail.

Which is your favorite Olive photo? And why?

Walking in Awe

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I stopped for a moment to enjoy this view in my neighborhood during a morning walk.

Did you know that walking in awe is good for you? A friend sent me an article called “Scientists Asked People To Do 1 Thing Differently While Taking A Walk. The Results Were Astounding” from a podcast called “Am I Doing It Wrong?” from the Huff Post.

I naturally walk with awe. I take my time, stop and take photos. I’m in awe of desert plants, the mountains, the wildlife. I didn’t know I was making myself healthier by being in the moment and walking with awe. But I am! Isn’t that amazing?

Here’s a snippet from the article:

Dacher Keltner is on a mission to fill our lives with more awe.

He has spent the last two decades studying awe, which he says is distinct from joy or fear, and how experiencing it can positively affect our bodies, our relationships with others and how we see and interact with the world around us.

Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and the director of the Greater Good Science Center recently chatted with us — Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson, hosts of HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast — about his work, specifically why we should try to inject more awe into our lives, and what will happen if we do.

“It’s amazing! It tells us so much about the evolution of the human nervous system,” Keltner, the author of “Awe: The New Science Of Everyday Wonder And How It Can Transform Your Life,” told us. “One region of the brain is deactivated [when we experience awe] — the default mode network. That is where all the self-representational processes take place: I’m thinking about myself, my time, my goals, my strivings, my checklist. That quiets down during awe.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/awe-walk-wonder-dacher-keltner-2_l_66f84f7ce4b027bd4385f324

When you make a practice of experiencing awe, Keltner said you’ll have more and more awe in your life. Some of the benefits include less inflamation, less pain and better relationships.

Okay guys, let’s get out there and walk in awe. Let go of our to do lists and enjoy the moment in nature.

What are your thoughts of walking in awe?

Is it something you do already or something you’ll try?

It’s the little things

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Bob cat
Bob cat lounging outside our bedroom window.

I find a lot of happiness and excitement in little things. Our lives are made of small moments strung together and if we spend too much time worrying or focusing on the past or future, we miss the little bits of joy in the present. 

Here’s a list of moments that make me truly happy:

Hearing the birds sing early in the morning.

My kids calling just to talk. They aren’t asking for anything and there’s nothing big going on.

Having lunch yesterday with a good friend and spending a few hours catching up with our lives.

Noticing that my husband got his dish off the table, into the sink and miracle of miracles—into the dishwasher.

Watching baby quail in our backyard.

Seeing a bob cat on my outdoor camera.

Olive the cat honoring me with her presence and stretching out for a cat nap while I’m laying on my side. I have to be careful not to move, so she doesn’t fall off.

Sitting in by back yard reading a really good book.

Walking with my husband and marveling at the beauty surrounding us on a weekend morning.

Checking things off my to-do list and feeling productive.

What little things in your life make your day?

We had a visitor last night.