The Exercise Past the Garden Gate
 

Wow. A gym log. I can do this. My hip is healed and I need to get my strength, health and body back to where I want it. I have achy pieces parts and after 2 days of a 30 min walks my old soft tissue ankle injury is fussing, but I have a soft ankle brace for it, guess I'd better put it on. I joined the 2 Hr a week exercise challenge and that'll keep me doing something for 30 min 5 X a week. (If I shoot for 5 days, surely I'll get 4 in...)
This is also where I want to post my pics as I walk. I need to make this interesting for myself since I live in a very uninspired area...this part of CA isn't very pretty. But I did find things to photograph with my crap cell camera.
This is down the street, early AM.
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Surprise find: pussy willows! Didn't think they existed here.

cat tails along the small airport airstrip

bush grew into fence and they just cut around it....
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and Canadian Geese flying overhead
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Taking pix is fun for me although I never do it - until now. Anthonyc's journal actually inspired me to take some; his walk pics are very beautiful in his J. (unlike these...LOL)
I had some pix of a flock of turkeys in the parking lot this AM, but they ran too fast and ended up blurry.
Kat

Very nice Kat! Each picture represents the treasure of time and the gift to yourself of walking, exploring and becoming more healthy. Good going!

Thanks Vicki! You're right - its an experience captured :)

Keep at it...the picture idea is great. You asked on my page how long it takes to do 5 miles. Here it takes about an hour...very brisk walking and sometimes a bit of jogging. However it is easy to walk here cause lots of nice paths. The way I figured it out is...
Walked to a nice lookout point and did google map on my phone. It pin-pointed me and then I asked for direction back to where I stated. It gave me the mileage. I am sure there are easier ways or apps made just for tracking distance but this worked for me. I was surprised it was that far!
Keep going...you are doing great!

Thanks Vicki! I was actually looking forward to doing it today. Googling the map is a great idea. I have a smart phone I need to switch my antique over to...haven't done it yet. I'll be able to do fun things and take better pix.

Monday Feb 18
 

Walked 30 min around the neighborhood loop. I actually got out before dark because we have a storm coming in and it was cloudy so it was perfect for taking pics. I am not a sun person so if it was sunny I'd wait til sunset...Nothing terribly exciting...
Here is a Ponderosa pine on my way up a grade
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A gully wash along the complex road[IMG][/IMG]
Rubble pile along the way and my guess as to where the spot was where something very tragic happened years ago
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Dead end where Urban artist wannabes practice for the day they can vandalise in a real urban place
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Pot of gold at the end of the trip: A huge pussywillow bush! I never noticed it before :)
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Tues Feb 19
 

I couldn't wait to get home and do this. I thought about where I would walk today and what to photograph. It had just rained when I went out. Not far up the road in higher elevations chains are required already.
I walked 45+ min today, because I was stopping to photograph..I lost track of exactly how much time it was...It was pretty cold. Low tonight 28.
So daffodils coming up at the base of a mailbox up the road
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The first robins I've seen this year...there were many of them but they didn't photograph well on the ground....and they kept toodling away from me
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Ok, this is actually kinda pretty - sun was peaking out at the edge of the park

Yesterdays little league has deserted the park today...just me and the robins
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It had just rained and the raindrops were still on the evergreens
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you are finding magic in everyday things.... what beautiful walks

Good for you,Kat!

Thanks Arlene! You probably take some beautiful walks with your group too... I forgot how wonderful everything smells after rain.
Thanks "walking" with me!

Yes, we do see wonderful things, and way too often we take things for granted.....

It's true, I had lamented the lack of pussywillow bushes here for years and now on my walks I've seen them up close in two spots nearby :) Things smell good too - I love the "green house" garden smell and fresh air.

Break yesterday
 

Today I got home late, so I programmed my Pandora for a Dance Music station. I set the timer for 20 min with about a minute inbetween to keep programming or skip songs that didn't inspire. And I shook it up! It was really fun and I set the timer for another 20 min and kept going. I am a bit sore...haven't moved like that in a long time, but wow felt like I had a good workout. I love dancing. :D

Friday Feb 22
 

It was a little overcast today and the temp was nice - 60s. So I did what I rarely do... I went for a 10 min walk at lunch - not a sunlover so I had on a hat and sweater which I needed - cold wind! I took pix of my workplace which is in this godforsaken area....too close to high electrical towers. I could fill a book with what's gone on since I started working here. So the pix aren't very pretty today.
Out behind our warehouse - it looks like a stalag. Used to be a base, I think.
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The gigantic water tower amidst the bombed out warehouses
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Desolate looking parking lot on the way into the "base"
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The "base" road...
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And a rosebud struggling to bloom in an attempt to bring some beauty to this place...
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I'll dance for 20 min again tonight to get my 30 min in. :)

Sat Feb 23
 

I've made my 2 Hr a week challenge!
Wk of Feb 16 Sun – Sat
Sun Feb 17 – 30 min walk
Mon Feb 18 – 30 min walk
Tues Feb 19 – 45 min walk
Thur Feb 21 – 30 min dancing in apt to Pandora
Fri Feb 22 – 10 min walk and 20 min dancing
Sat Feb 23 – 30 min walk

I was shooting for 30 min 5 X a week (an extra day to make sure I got it in) and I did. Went for a walk tonight - it was already dark out. So here is Kat's self taught photography lesson - more bad pix :lol:
Tried to photograph a complex light globe with the moon overhead...
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Trees partially lit by the complex porch lights and globes...
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And I was getting that odd feeling that maybe tonight wasn't a good night to be out standing around on a back road trying to photograph things in the dark... so I ended my "session" and hoofed it back home...ah...cozy.
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Keep it up........

Hi Slim! Thanks for dropping in - you're doing great! Almost at goal.
:)

Sun Feb 24
 

I did go for a 30 min walk this AM - busy today so I'll post my pics later. Oscar night which went into extra innings LOL - time to fall into bed.
So here are Sunday AM's photos: the ditch! Terribly exciting, I know.
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Somebody was testing their spray paint on the bushes - maybe they work for the white queen!
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Daffodils in bloom already. Everything is too early here...but they're pretty.
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Artemis! I have Artemis for a neighbor! How cool is that?
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And the sun is coming up.
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Monday Feb 25
 

I've been cold today - so didn't feel like going out - plus a lot of noisy screaming kids outside. So I put on Pandora and danced for 30 min, then heard a song I loved and HAD to dance some more -just kept going. Probably got in 40 min.

Wed Feb 27
 

I took a 20 min walk at lunch today - sun was surprisingly hot and I covered up so I wouldn't burn. I like to get out and take pics but will probably wait til sunset or before sunrise to walk. Some of the pics I took wouldn't send from my phone because "exceeded maximum file limit"...not all of them say that so I don't know what the difference is or what that means. The pics would have been of a cherry tree in bloom and a birds nest in another tree. I added a pic I didn't post from Sunday to round it out a bit here.
New planter in front of apt complex office:
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A water hole beyond the stalag fence in back..
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This dead pine has been in the parking lot a long time...
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And a plane flies overhead - I hope they are going somewhere fun...
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Fri Mar 1
 

I went for a walk as the sun was setting tonight. Still fighting a bug, but wanted to get out in the air. I did 40 min - there was a cherry tree I wanted to photograph but wasn't sure how far up the road it was. I did make it- turned around there. I took a main street today - busy! Need to get something reflective - dogs have those blinky lights for their collars...hmmm.
Dried flowers along the backroad - with a little imagination they could be baby's breath? (ok, a lot..) I thought they looked pretty.
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Maybe a crab apple? tree budding out as the sun sets...[IMG][/IMG]
I walked past one of my old apartments - above a business where I used to work
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A creeper vine climbing over a wall...
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And the cherry tree in bloom I wanted to walk to. It was almost too dark to photograph, but the sky is such a beautiful periwinkle color here!
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You make me want to walk and take pics. I'll do it tomorrow, maybe.

Fo some reason pics did not come through but must be something having to do with internet here...slow. Your walk sounds nice...and a cherry tree for a reward. I love periwinkle. Good going!

Hi Ann! Thanks for stopping by - hey we can walk and take pics together anytime :) It keeps things more interesting for me. Another idea would be books on tape but I'd need a new Walkman. I kind of like looking for interesting things to photograph.

Thanks Vicki - you'll be able to see them when you get home, I'm sure. The sky is absolutely that color. One of my favorite colors. I drive past that cherry tree everyday and wondered if I could get to it tonight...

Wk of Feb 24 Sun – Sat
 

Wk of Feb 24 Sun – Sat
Sun Feb 24 – 30 min walk
Mon Feb 25 – 40 min dancing
Tues Feb 26 –
Wed Feb 27 – 20 min walk
Thur Feb 28 –
Fri Mar 1 – 40 min walk – made goal
Sat Mar 2 - 40 min walk - and then some!

I made my goal this week of 2 hours. I hadn't been feeling great and still don't but at least I did it. I would like to do some exercise tonight as well.** did!

Sat Mar 2
 

It's overcast today (my kind of weather) so I went out earlier than usual for a walk. I walked for 40 min - part of the walk was a grade so I felt the burn!
It was dark enough for a lamp to be lit this early in the day...[IMG][/IMG]
Pink blossoms! Our winter is spring to the other side of the country..[IMG][/IMG]
Bridge going into the park...
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This is Chase - his teenage owner said he was in a Browns (labs) calendar so he is a celebrity dog!
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Little League practice...
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And overexposed witch hazel in bloom.
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Oh...cherry blossoms! How beautiful! Cute chocolate lab...I have one too!
Good for you keeping on the exercise!

Your pictures are fun! Flowers blooming, trees just ready to bud, making new friends! LOL
It will be interesting to see the coming of spring, and heavy leafed summer through your lens.

Yes, its habit now - and I'm in the challenge group for 2 hrs a week, so I have to! You have a chocolate lab??? How fun - they are so energetic :)

Thanks Arlene :) I have a good time taking them. The dog was following me into the street so I walked back across the bridge and then asked if I could take his picture. I had a jonquil pic but I moved and it turned out blurry.
It'll be fun to do this thru the seasons.