I went for a walk yesterday, in mid-50 temperatures and an overcast sky. Tim and I parked and hiked along the water’s edge at Griffy Lake.
On the way, we saw a woman kayaking with an adorable beagle. Both human and canine looked rather pleased with the arrangement (biped laboring, beagle relaxing). This was moment #1 I wished I had brought my camera. I convinced myself to leave the camera at home because this trip was about getting some exercise, not sightseeing. Ah, well. Onward.
We reached the tip where the land juts out into lake (northern most point on the trail in the map shown). It was still and quiet, curiously so. I heard morning doves and saw a few robins when we got out of the car but we heard next to nothing as evening set in. And this was camera in absentia moment #2. There were some fishermen sitting quietly in a boat. There was a break in the clouds to the north, letting light spill over the dam. Argh. Onward!
We took higher ground back to the road. DST afforded us more light in the evening however, while it was barely dusk, I didn’t want to push my luck. The path back offered more diverse tree species. Dried yellowed leaves from autumn still clung to the branches of short, almost bushy trees. If not so overcast, the late afternoon sun would have turned the leaves into fiery bits of yellow parchment. There is a lot of dead wood and fallen timber, which always makes for a more interesting landscape, which yep, you guessed it, hearkens ‘why the frell didn’t I bring my damn camera’ moment #3. Sigh. End.
All in all, a good first outing. We stopped twice (the second time I asked Tim to take this picture) but we managed to keep up a decent pace. We agreed that we should come back and try for going around the entire lake when we have a larger block of time available.
We plan to take walks and/or hikes three times a week. I’d like to squeeze in one more on my own, perhaps on whichever weekend morning is open. Russ and I also like to go to state parks too, which will help in finding that fourth day of walking per week. It’s likely that I will carry my little camera in the future, even if it means breaking pace occasionally. The intent is to be more active in general. I won’t pretend that walking for an hour and a half is anything like thirty minutes at the gym but walking and/or light hiking is better than nothing.
Playing in Puddles 