Wellness Wednesday

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.

Gathering

We are gatherers,
the ones who pick up sticks and stones
and old wasp’s nests fallen by the
door of the barn,
walnuts with holes that look like
eyes of owls,
bits of shells not whole but lovely
in their brokeness,
we are the ones who bring home
empty eggs of birds
and place them on a small glass shelf
to keep for what? How long?
It matters not. What matters
Is the gathering,
the pockets filled with remnants
of a day evaporated, the traces of
certain memory, a lingering smell,
a smile that came with the shell.

Nina Bagley

Reminiscing About Arches

As winter begins to wind down and adventure season dawns before us, my mind is wandering to some favorite past trips. This is what I do when I’m itching to travel but not able to go just yet.

The Wandering Canadians’ account of their visit to Utah and Arches National Park made me nostalgic for the glorious week I spent wandering through that area with my western adventure friend. That was back in 2018 and still stands up in my memory as one of my best trips ever.

This place is drastically different from my Ohio home. The red rocks, wide open skies and desert climate are like the surface of the moon compared to the lush, green hills of home. Here in Ohio, forests grow thick and tall. In Arches, the trees are small and gnarled curiosities that have fought to survive each passing year. Arches features spires, giant stone arches, balanced rocks and monoliths.

Maybe it’s the drastic difference in landscape that makes it so appealing. When you find something growing here like a cactus flower, a tree or an insect, it seems so miraculous that anything can survive in the sand and heat of this place.

This is why we travel – to understand the world beyond our daily reach and to better appreciate the places where we do live. It encourages us to ask questions and drives us to seek answers about the world and ourselves.

Traveling feeds a curious mind and a wandering soul. My feet itch just thinking about it!

First 2023 Adventure Day

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!

Favorite Trees And Fading Sunset

We have enjoyed a long run of gorgeous fall days. That all ends today when it turns rainy and cooler. Tomorrow will be rainy and cold, ushering in what appears to be a long patch of cooler days and cold nights.

The rain isn’t so thrilling but it’s hard to get excited about the impending holidays when it’s 68 degrees and sunny. So I’m kind of excited to see the mercury drop and maybe stop being such a grinch. All the same, I took advantage of yesterday’s sunshine with a short walk after work at Kinnikinnick Fen near Chillicothe. I have favorite trees everywhere I go and the picture above shows one of them at the Fen.

When I came home last night, the western sky was aglow with the remnants of sunset. You can see in the silhouette that the trees have lost their leaves. These are some of my favorite trees here at home – with or without their foliage.

It was a remarkable end to the day and to this streak of fine fall days. Better pack your umbrella and put on those galoshes if you’re out and about today. You will need them!

Hiking Days Are Numbered

The time changes this weekend so it will soon be too dark to hike after work. Long hikes will be relegated to the weekends and I’ll have to find new ways to work in some exercise during the week.

So I went for a real quick hike last night at Old Man’s Cave in the Hocking Hills State Park. It was foggy till lunchtime yesterday but turned out to be a nice fall afternoon and evening. Plus, I almost had the place to myself.

I always think this tree, and others like it, is trying to walk away.

And this bridge is a favorite spot on a quiet day.

There are a lot of stairs on this particular trail, providing plenty of opportunities to give your heart a little jolt. This picture represents a fraction of the steps you climb to leave the gorge and head back to the parking lot. Stairs are fine but that curved wood and metal staircase agitates my fear of heights in the worst way.

The fresh air was good for me and I was grateful. This is your gentle reminder to grab at those opportunities to do what you enjoy as often as you can.