Timing is Everything

Waiting to be discovered

When we first moved to New York State in late June, my husband and I set out to start a habit of walking three miles each morning, as much as possible.  I suppose the newness of the move brought the usual excitement that comes with a fresh start.  As time progressed, our walk began to fall by the wayside.  It took everything in me to just get dressed and put my tennis shoes on.  Several times, my husband went on without me.  At first, I felt guilty; but, it went away.  Then, something happened.

I decided to get on the scale.  That was both good and bad.  I’ve gained all my weight back from two years ago.  “Throw caution to the wind,” she said as she finished off the last two chocolate Macadamian bites from the box her son brought from his trip to Hawaii.  Oh, and of course, she needed to make berry pies for her son – you know from the berries they all picked together at their last visit in July? The good? It was time to get serious about my health. 

The second motivating factor came from an article in the Huffington post,  "Shinrin Yoku.”  This is also known as 'forest bathing'.  It's how Japanese de-stress and declutter their minds by taking long walks in the woods. After reading the article, I realized I wasn't getting the opportunity to enjoy our surroundings.  I needed to enjoy my walk, not focus on the time and distance.  The article refreshed my perspective.

Now, don't think this made starting any easier.  In fact, I balked at the whole thought, even though I knew it was the right thing to do.  Maybe it was because I got up a little later and I was still waiting for the fog to move out of my brain.  I grumbled while tying my tennis shoes, but I managed to make it out the door, and follow my hubby down the drive.  Once I hit the pavement, things seemed to look up for me.

We began to slow our pace to observe the changing flora.  Some were dying off, some were turning red, yellow, and orange; and, others were new growth.  Since we weren't actually walking in the woods, I could only observe the bark textures from a distance.  One towering pine stood out. The needles seem to drape down from the branches.  It reminded me of the Spanish moss that hung from the water oaks back in Georgia.  My guess is it was a  Norwegian pine.  By this time, I was feeling a bit like Annie Dillard at Tinker Creek. 






I was on constant vigilance for my next photo.  A bunch of milkweed pods became an interesting subject.  A close up shot made it seem as though I was walking in a southwestern desert.  

The Monarch's Life Source

My husband commented about a conversation we had with a friend regarding the Monarch butterflies.  With the decline of milkweed, the Monarchs have no place to lay their eggs causing them to no longer migrate to North America.  You can read more here. 

By the time we headed back, the sky had a bit of an overcast.  One of the things Tammy encourages is spontaneity.  Rather than be too fussy about my subjects, I just picked some of the nearest weeds, got down on my knees, and looked up into the sun.

All of this probably would never have taken place had I not stepped on the scale or read the Huffington Post article.

Timing is everything.