I have been unnaturally tired for the last couple of weeks and I endured a headache yesterday. It made for a long day.
As my workday ended, I decided that Wellness Wednesday would be the theme of the evening. So I stopped for a walk on the way home and savored the fresh air, stopping occasionally to touch the bark on a tree or to examine the light hitting a shallow stream.
My house needs a good cleaning, my closet is in shambles, the trash needs to go out and the list goes on and on. Fortunately, these things can wait a while so I fed Scout and went to bed.
Warm pjs, soft pillows and a purring kitty cat are my idea of self care. Here’s hoping today is better.
Sometimes self care is candles and a bubble bath. Sometimes it’s doing the work you have been putting off. Sometimes self care is drinking the water and eating the vegetables. Sometimes it is surrendering to the demands of your body and just going to bed.
Learn to listen to your body and learn to know the difference. Understanding what you need is a true skill and one we all should master.
Yesterday brought a break in the No Spend Challenge for a little Adventure Day. I intended to stay home and use the time to do a couple of projects, get some rest and read. But the forecast for sunshine and 41 degrees was simply too tempting to ignore.
Instead, I set off early and headed to Dayton to hike at Aullwood Audubon where I visited the trolls or the forest giants, depending on what you call them. It was 21 degrees and the weather app said it felt like fifteen but I was so happy to be in nature I did not care.
Then I hit up the Waco Air Museum in Troy.
And, I needed lunch so I found a fantastic little diner nearby. It was cramped and busy so my pictures are all awful but the food was delish and I really liked it there. I will tell you all about it soon.
And I mostly window shopped at Antiques Village but did score a couple of good deals. This is one of my favorite antique malls so I couldn’t leave town without a stroll through.
It’s funny because I was so happy at home and focusing on my January No Spend Challenge that I never felt deprived. However, this day that was heavy on experiences and light on spending was just what I needed. I felt more like myself than I have in a long time.
It was a long day but I would have stayed out longer. We are probably lucky that I didn’t continue West when I found myself on the National Road. Don’t think I didn’t contemplate running away from home to the great state of Indiana!
Along the way, I chatted with people, looked at some interesting things and even saw a mink in the wild. So check back to hear more and to see more pictures!
The Plains Conservation Center is an 1,100 acre nature preserve in Aurora, Colorado. There’s a nature center and hiking trails with views of the Rocky Mountains.
I visited back in August when my pal Johnna and I met for a whirlwind road-tripping adventure around the state. We stopped here for a walk on the way to the airport. It was exactly the right choice.
A red-tailed hawk played above us while prairie dogs scurried to avoid us on the ground.
There’s a homestead village with a handful of buildings and animals.
Ohioans are fortunate because we have four distinct seasons. Of these, spring is gentle and delicate. Winter is a harsh time of hibernation. Summer’s humidity and heat are brutally oppressive. I hibernate a lot then too.
But fall, oh fall! It’s deliciously beautiful. It’s cinnamon rolls, wood smoke, denim jackets and fresh apples. It’s pumpkin carving, long hikes and picnics under the maple trees.
Fresh air, blue skies and vibrant leaves in unexpected colors are hallmarks of this amazing season.
It’s the best season. It’s also ridiculously short.
Since it will soon be dark at 4:30 p.m. and the cold will soon move in, I have decided to make hay while the sun shines. I have been out for hikes and quick walks as much as possible this month and am grateful for each and every day this was possible.
Soon, I’ll have to work a little harder to be outdoors and keep thinking I need to buy better hiking clothes to make winter adventures more comfortable.
Fall is fleeting but so is life. As in nature, we all experience seasons in life. They aren’t always happy or beautiful times. It often feels like the happy moments pass in the blink of an eye while challenging periods seem to drag on forever.
Enjoy those beautiful, happy days to their fullest. Take the hike, pick the apples, breathe that crisp autumn air. And when the skies turn dark as winter settles in, look for ways to enjoy those days too.
These pictures are from my hike at Buzzard’s Roost after work last night. It was a quick 2.25 miles for exercise rather than for the near spiritual outdoor experience I described earlier this week.
Yet, I found myself occasionally coming around a bend to stop dead in my tracks. It was just that beautiful.
Someday, I’m going to pack a picnic and a book and linger on this bench. doesn’t that sound like a great way to enjoy a season?
Today is supposed to be gorgeous here in southern Ohio and I intend to enjoy every minute. Wherever you are, please go do the same.
I abandoned my household chores yesterday in favor of a stroll at Lake Katherine State Nature Preserve.
I hiked the Salt Creek Trail and a short section of another trail. Starting down the path to the Salt Creek trail makes you feel like you’re about to do something truly special. I always have the sensation that I’m walking into a storybook.
It starts out wide, gradually becoming a bit more narrow as you begin a gradual descent. It’s still wide enough to walk beside someone but the trees appear to be leaning in to see who is coming down the path.
Then a sharp turn sends you further down where you glimpse a concourse of these incredible boulders on which hemlock grow.
In this spot, you will have the feeling that you are the first to discover it and the only one to hold the secret of its mystique. It feels like a place where you might encounter elves or trolls or maybe a centaur.
This time of year, leaves release their grasp on the limbs overhead, floating down to return to the earth from which they came.
If you are paying attention at all, as you reluctantly leave this spot, you will turn and look back. I promise.
Down, down, down you will go, enjoying a slight decrease in the temperature while catching glimpses of Salt Creek along the way.
You’ll follow a rock face and, in one particularly spectacular place, go under an outcropping of rock. The leaves fell in earnest here yesterday. I saw a butterfly here, heard the insistent buzz of a bee, listened to a distant woodpecker, and enjoyed the cry of a far off train whistle. If I have to hear civilization in nature, the mighty whistle of a train is pretty nice.
I always marvel at how nature bends to the will of its surroundings and you’ll see a lot of that along this trail. Trees grow from meager patches of soil on a rock, not as strong as some of the neighbors but, with a will to live that cannot be denied. Others will grow in ample earth in the shadow of that same rock, leaning to follow the contours of the stone while reaching skyward.
Others will stand alone in a place with no cover, growing increasingly twisted and gnarled by the wind. But they’re still trying and I admire that about them.
It is on a short spur off this trail that you will arrive at a flood plain filled with Paw Paw, Maple and Sycamore trees.
In this space, you will begin to feel very small – in the best possible way.
When you find a place in nature that makes you feel small, you will realize that your life and problems, your joys and mere existence in this grandly designed Universe are minuscule.
If you have never experienced this, I suggest you stop reading now and go find a place like Lake Katherine. You need to know what it is to be both alone and accompanied, at the same time, through the wilderness we call life.
Remember Michelangelo’s painting The Creation of Adam?
This is nature’s rendition.
It looks like they are reaching toward each other. Can you see it? You won’t find this kind of amazement in any manmade place.
Remember, a hike isn’t a footrace. Get the exercise, enjoy your quickened pulse but stop and look around – look up, down and behind you. There are untold joys and blessings to be found along the journey.
After taking my dream ride on the Ford Tri-Motor airplane Saturday, I headed up to Circleville for some lunch and a walk at a place I had never been.
Calamus Swamp Preserve is located just outside of Circleville and is a Columbus Audubon Preserve of about 19 acres.
This is not a difficult walk but it is lovely. The trail winds through meadow, boardwalk and woods. Dragonflies, birds and squirrels accompanied me along the way.
This stretch of trail was shaded and especially pleasant.
There were several varieties of fungi and some interesting wildflowers to inspect.
Calamus is convenient to access and peaceful. I would absolutely stop here again when in the neighborhood. Click here to learn more. Take note, there’s also a paved bike path that goes right by this property.
Make the Journey Fun 