I understand what happened

Friday, May 11, 2012

In my last blog, I wrote about the ugly nature centre that was built at the Cherry River Bog. As we were approaching the centre, I told my sister: "I'm so anxious to see how the nature centre is coming along!" She said, "You mean you haven't seen it yet? It was finished last year."

It dawned on me that I hadn't gone to walk there a single time last year. I almost didn't walk at all last Spring/Summer/Fall, and I regained a LOT of weight.

As we talked, I realized what happened. I was working more and more hours at the office. The responsibility became more than I could handle, and I didn't have any mental or physical energy left to go for walks. My health deteriorated. I started getting angina pain again (I had a heart attack 2 years ago) and my diabetes and blood pressure were out of control. Finally, my doctor told me to apply for disability. I started filling out the disability forms.

Then I asked my doctor if I could try working only 20 hours per week. That worked out very well. My wonderful bosses were willing to adjust my responsibilities. Anyway, I worked my way back up to 24 hrs/week, which my doctor says is the absolute maximum I can work. And it works really well for me. (Gotta budget carefully though!)

I have time and energy for walks, and my health is improving once again. The weight is coming off so slowly this time though. But I know that I'm doing what I need to do, and I'm enjoying my walks with the best walking buddy in the world! I'm extremely grateful for my understanding bosses. I've been secretary there for over 25 years. I know that in many places, people get fired when they can't produce as much as they used to.

Today, we went for our walk at the Andre Nadeau Open Air base.
It's a scenic and delightful 4.3 mile walk.




I don't know what these yellow flowers are called. They grow abundantly along the banks of brooks and streams. It's great to see nature starting to get its colours back.

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Walk at the Cherry River Bog

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

The forecast today was rain, but the sun came out at about noon. I called my sister and we decided to brave the forecast.

There were dark clouds on the horizon when we got to the Cherry River Bog.


Walking on a boardwalk is one of my favorite experiences. (I thought of you, Irene.)


The pleasant, easy trail is just a bit over 4 miles long.


We came upon 2 baby chipmunks running and playing and just enjoying being alive! We stayed awhile to watch them and managed to catch a picture of one of them.


We also took a photo of a squirrel munching on his snack. But unfortunately we weren't fast enough to take a photo of the baby fox that darted by in the woods.


There are plenty of benches on which to sit and enjoy the view.


A Canada Goose enjoying a swim, and Mallard Duck preening his feathers.


And what is this monstrosity?


I was looking forward to seeing the new nature centre that was built on the site. I'd seen plans of a beautiful, rustic cottage that would fit right into the natural setting. I couldn't believe it when I saw this UGLY building! They spent over a million dollars on that centre. What an eyesore! My sister told me that they've received many complaints that the centre was NOT built according to the plans that were submitted. It's extremely disappointing!

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A very different walk... with grandma!

Monday, May 07, 2012

My sister was babysitting 2 of her grandchildren today, a 3 yr.-old grandson, and a 6-month granddaughter. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and she knew that I had taken one of my vacation days today. So she called me and asked if I wanted to go for a "different" kind of walk. Different indeed! We had all kinds of adventures on our almost 5-mile walk.

We waited patiently, and


our patience was rewarded by hungry Canadian geese hoping to be fed.


We walked by some Mallard ducks.


Sometimes we simply enjoyed the view from the fence,


or discussed fishing with grandma.


All this walking is making me very thirsty!


How can my sister sleep through these thrilling adventures?


Grandma takes this walk, alone with both us, so often that I know what's coming up next on the walk. But when grand-auntie got home, she had to take a nap.


I admit that I'm impressed by my sister's stamina!

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Walk at Andre Nadeau Open Air Base

Sunday, May 06, 2012

My sister and I went for our regular walk at the Andre Nadeau Open Air Base today. We didn't attempt more than that because I was sick this morning. (Turns out to be a reaction to a natural supplement I started taking. Second time I'm sick. I'm not taking that again!)

Anyway, my sister is a bit taller than I am. A lot skinnier too! I told her that our trail was over 9,000 steps. She put on her pedometer and told me it was 7,800 steps. So today, I wore the same pedometer, and it counted 9,450 steps (4.5 miles). No wonder I'm huffing and puffing while she comfortably strides along.

Since we walk there often, we don't usually take photos because they'd always be the same ones. But we did take some today.

Our favorite part of the trail winds through some woods.


It also crosses some delightful brooks.


Yesterday, we came across military cadets drawing water from one of the streams. (I didn't take a photo of the particular stream they drew water from.)


My sister and I try to solve all of the world's problems as enjoy our health walks together.

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Vandalism at Nadeau Open Air base.

Saturday, May 05, 2012

My sister and I enjoy walking at the Andre Nadeau Open Air base. It takes us about 75 minutes to walk the entire circuit. It's a lovely, quiet trail that crosses several streams. It's only about a 12-minute drive from where we each live, so it's a great place to meet and get in a quick health walk when our time is limited. It's free to walk the trails, even though people rent the installations for weddings, family reunions, etc. Today, a group of military cadets was enjoying an outing at the open air base.

Unfortunately, the base has been having problems with vandalism at night. Among other things, some of the tepees were vandalized and two were stolen.


The base is considering hiring a full-time guardian, and charging a fee for walking on the trails to help offset the expense. We'd better enjoy our free trail while we still can!

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