Today's Walk

I've been sort of forcing myself to get out and walk at the local parks on Saturday, my day off.  Last weekend it was Riparian, got some nice shots of birds.  The pelicans were there this time!  It isn't every year that I catch them while they're stopping over.  Not sure where they're from, or where they're going, but I like it when they're at the park when I'm there! 

Today, it was Freestone Park and boy was it busy!!!!!   There is loads of parking there, and most of it was full!  Usually it's much quieter, but I think folks are tired of keeping kids cooped up.  :)  I caught a few photos:  ducks, egrets, and a green heron were hanging around today! 

On Doing More

Since my son died, doing things has become something that I do out of necessity, not because it's enjoyable or gives me pleasure.  It's SO much easier to be a watcher than it is a do-er.  Watching takes little energy, and that's about the speed I've been running lately - little energy.  It's coming back slowly, and I still have days where it's easier to do nothing, but at least it's better than it was.

On Friday, I took a stroll through Riparian Preserve, and took about three dozen photos.  But I think my camera battery died in the middle of it, and I ended up with only 5 good photos.  But it was a 37 minute walk according to my FitBit so that's something!

When I uploaded to my computer and got a good look at them, I realized that there is usually only one subject in the photo, and that many of them seem to be suited to black and white - dark and a little edgy.  Perfect description of my moods.  And then I had another thought:  maybe I needed to take them a little dark and edgy and get it out of my system.







It was an overcast day,
so maybe that was a part of it.

A Walk in the Park

It was a beautiful day
sunny and 70 ....
so I forced myself out of the house
and took a walk in the park.

Caught this cute little bunny mid-chew!






Not sure this was what I needed
but it couldn't hurt!

I wasn't sure how much I could endure;
this was the park Brian and I walked around
before we stopped in to the library for books/videos,
and hit Taco Bell on our way home
every Thursday for years!

Memories and tears welled up,
but it was good.

Hello, 2019!

It's my goal this year to get outdoors and take more photos.  I've been lacking in the "getting out" part of my life this past year, and that needs to change.

It's not easy, because I always feel guilty leaving Sadie at home.  But taking her with me in the car causes me a lot of anxiety because she doesn't travel well.  The minute we're in the car, she's bouncing off the walls like a 2 year old who's just had a bottle of sugar water!  On the days when I take off for some photo ops, I make sure to take her on two extra long walks so she doesn't feel so left out.  Ugh.  That's a lot of effort because I have dog! 

The other reason for not getting out as much is due to health issues.  When the need for a bathroom arises, there isn't much time to dash -- and you can't always take a dog into a restroom with you, so where does that leave me?  Dashing to the car to lock her away, then dashing back toward a bathroom!!  The fear of not making it on time has kept me home the past year, and with the help of meds, I'm overcoming most of it, sans dog.  

Today was a quick jaunt over to Riparian Preserve.  Because the weather was 20 degrees warmer than it had been all week, the park was full of people and dogs.  I'm happy they were all outdoors, but it chases away the birds and animals ..... so photos were few.  I'm never sure if people care when their photo gets accidentally taken.  There were some little girls playing follow the leader, and that could have been a wonderful photo, but these days you can never be too careful when photographing kids.  So I didn't.  I just watched as they all followed the bravest girl, who led them up, over, down all the cement climbing opportunities she could!  Oh to be so carefree again!!

Hello, 2019, I hope it's a terrific year!

Black and White

 

I have an affinity

for black and white photography

There's something elegant about it.

Or maybe it's that taking the color out of a photo

makes the person seeing the photo

have to do more than just glance at it.

then again, maybe I'm just ... weird that way.

Even the rain drops show up in this black and white version

and the reflection of the bird in each photo .... 

Pretty neat, but that's just me!

Rainy Day Photos

After the recent warming trend, we have a surprising dreary day on our hands.  Dreary I can take, but I got everything ready to head out the door with Sadie for a walk in the park and discovered it started raining!   Ahh well..... we waited 30 minutes until it let up and then headed over to the park. 

I've become fascinated with trying to capture photos of people around Arizona, along with a black and white format.   As I look at them, I wonder "What's their story?"  and try to discover details captured in the photo for clues. 

In an odd way, it reminds me of my childhood.  We ate dinner at the table together as a family each day at 5pm.  Our dining room has a window that looks out, and our view is an entire neighborhood street with about 20 houses on it.  Which gave us lots to talk about .... we'd see someone loading something in a car and begin a little story about what's going on.  Another neighbor would get a visitor -- is that a relative?  Oh look, same color hair, maybe that's so-and-so....  lol  Yes, we were quite odd in that way.  And so the fascination with stories continues.....

Here, a couple strolls in the rain, heading home perhaps.

He's wearing shorts, and she is barefoot.  

Did the rain catch them unexpected?

These four intrigued me.  Part of a wedding party?

The two boys in front are wearing matching outfits right down to the shoes!

Saturday Stroll

Saturdays can be such a glorious day -- and today was no different.  A chilly start to the morning, and I got to sleep in .... til 8am!   Very rare for me, but I'd been awake in the middle of the night after having a dream.  I lay there awake, so positive that I would remember it in the morning to write it down, because it seemed to important to me at 3am ---- but "old timers" catches up with me and I can't remember a thing.  Ahh well.

A trip to the salon was in store for my morning - and while I love going to the salon, having my hair done, having someone 'pamper' me for a little while, my checkbook says "OUCH" when the bill arrives.  And while I'm worth it, I really need to put my money in other places. *sigh*  I know I made another appointment in just six weeks, but I'll need to change that.  I'm not a high end beauty kind of gal.  I'm more basic, down to earth;  if I thought I'd look good with a buzz cut, that's the route I'd take! lol

Sadie and I sat in the beautiful sunshine for 40 minutes this afternoon.  She's not much of a fan of sun-sitting, but I enjoyed the heck out of it.  There's nothing better than warm sun on your skin, a cold drink in one hand, and a really good book in the other hand.  That's what spring in the Valley of the Sun is like!

Our evening walk was taken over at Riparian Preserve.  There were loads of folks out, and it's always fun to people watch.  Sadie's happy with strolling along for a bit then sitting down on a bench and resting up.  Me, I'd rather power walk and get some good steps in, but either way, we kinda work it out -- and going slower means I have the time to watch more people.  Or birds.  hehehe

Here's hoping your Saturday was just as pleasant as ours!

Got Nature?

It's so easy to take things for granted, to look at things that are always there and not really notice them.  Sometimes our lives are so busy, we move from work to home to chores to bed and forget there's more out there.

Like this flock of geese
honking noisily .......






I've been guilty of that for more than a month. It's much easier to walk Sadie around the neighborhood than hop in the car and head for our favorite park.  But we miss out on so much when we take the easy way out!

Even on a cloudy day, the sun breaks through and shines a bit of evening light on the pond.....





Golden Ball Lead Tree, they have a dreamy scent to me, light and elusive at times.











and of course,  #AzSadieThePug!

she just LOVES going to this park

and we walked for an hour!

"In every walk with nature, 

one receives far more than he seeks."

-John Muir

Weird Days

I don't know if you do this or not, but I'm the type who likes to have a plan for the day.  It may not always be specific, and is ALWAYS subject to change, but a plan to start the day helps.


Yesterday was our "one trip shopping" discount at my BigBox store:  25% off one entire purchase, and this year I went all out:  a new TV and entertainment center for the living room!  It's way past time for the 12 year old TV to take a hike. haha  After pulling two shopping carts through the store in order to get all the stuff I wanted - and needed - I had the task of loading it all into my car.  The hardest piece was the entertainment center.   Being too big for the back seat, it had to go in the trunk, with the lid tied down.  I tacked on this little Santa Hat as my "red flag" to other drivers. hehehehe


After getting it all in the house and unloaded, I moved furniture, emptied out the old entertainment center and figured that Saturday morning would be a perfect time to start Assembling.  But once the pieces were all laid out, I found out that I was short 8 compression dowels.   Ugh.  I called the company (as the instructions read to do) and found the company isn't open on weekends.  After pondering for all of 10 seconds, I hopped in the car and headed to Home Depot.  They had dowels, the right diameter, but an inch too short.  I headed for Lowes, right length, but too fat.  Looks like I will have all these parts scattered all over until I can get more dowels shipped to me.   Which means I didn't take out and inspect my new TV and give that a whirl either!

So much for Saturday's Plan A.   Turns out that my Plan B was to clean the garage out a bit.  My son hasn't been home in over 5 days, and frankly, all the "stuff" he has in there is slowly encroaching on what little space I use in the garage:  the washer and dryer!  I didn't move TOO many things (after all, if I move things, as a man, he will never find them again! hahahah), and I got the floor swept and the corners vacuumed out.  At least I was productive in that area!

After all that, I decided that Sadie needed another walk, and I wasn't in the mood to walk the streets, so we headed to the local riparian preserve and circled around some of our favorite areas.  Lots of people out enjoying this beautiful day in the Valley of the Sun - and many of them dressed up for holiday photo shoots!   Always fun :)

Saturday Morning!

It's been a helluva week here .... too many working days in a row, and no matter how much I tried to get out of work early, they kept asking me to do things.  When they had their morning meeting, I took the opportunity to slip on out.   :)

Hit the gym 3 times this week, so I'm happy with myself over that.  It's a hard habit to get back into, but I know in the long run it's worth it, so I shall keep on trying.

My poor kid, Brian, seems to have a rough time of it from every angle.  On Monday, his bicycle was stolen from in front of the store while he was at work.  Imagine working a 7 hour shift, coming out at 10pm to find your bike gone, and then the "how will I get home" thoughts???   (Of course he can always call me!!)  but lucky one of his co-workers with some compassion gave him a lift home.  Our work-families can be just as good as our real families at times!  As for finding a replacement bike... yeah, that'll be fun, as his bike was custom built by him.

This morning, after a long 20 day stretch of getting up for work, Sadie and I went to Riparian Preserve for a morning walk.  It's a beautiful morning!

V-Formation

I am challenging myself to two things this month:  

more walking, and less griping.

It's so easy to gripe about how bad things are at work:  it IS the hell-iday season, we're extremely busy, customers are short on patience, bosses are short on patience, and employees are short on everything in between!   But I keep realizing that the more I gripe, the more I see the things that are wrong.  To combat that, I'm forcing myself to write something about a picture I take on one of my walks.  Sadie and I have taken to walking twice a day -  and that's good for both of us!

At Riparian Preserve, in Gilbert, I glanced up and found a V-formation of ducks flying toward me.  And with the sunset painting a gorgeous shade on the smattering of clouds, well.... you just have to shoot!  At least, I do.   Mother Nature in all her grandeur is ours for the taking, if only we'll stop our busy selves and take a few minutes to look around us and really notice the little things.  Maybe that's my calling in life:  recording those little things for those who don't take the time to do it on their own.  *ponders*

May the rest of your week be a blessed one!

Take a Walk

There is nothing more soothing than a long walk in the outdoors.  It doesn't matter if its at a National Park, a local park, or just around your own block.  If you pay attention, there will be things of wonder to see!

Over the weekend, I walked Sadie at Riparian Preserve, a local park of some notoriety.  It is recognized by the National Audubon Society as an important bird area.  There are plenty of birds and water fowl to attract photographers from all around the Valley.

But ... there's nothing more splendid than one of mother nature's sunsets!  The sky is painted incredible colors, and even more if there are clouds to paint upon!

If you haven't gotten out into the outdoors for a walk, start making it a habit.  You can start small by a quick jaunt around the block :)  It's a great way to relieve stress, and serves to remind us that there is more to life than our jobs, our problems, our selves.


#ilovetowalk
#lindadanielsonphotography

Fourteen Days In...

S.H.I.T. - So Happy It's Thursday!   While the week seemed to have gone by fast, today seemed to crawl.  But I got out of work on time, so that was a good thing. 

It's also our weekly trek to the library, and for dinner that I don't have to cook.  Tonight?  Taco Bell.  We tried the new Triple Steak Stack.  It was very cheesy, the steak was tasty, wrapped in a bolillo flatbread.  It was tasty, but I still like my Steak Salad instead. :)


My ME thing today was a trek around Riparian Preserve with Sadie.  We both love to get out, see people and other dogs, get some walk time in, and of course Sadie loves to run around and sniff at everything!  She's a good little walker and most times, we don't have an issue as to which way to go.  If I decide to do a little jogging, she forgoes the sniffing and prances right along with me.  hehehehehe






Crane at water's edge.
I couldn't pass up the photo op,
the reflection was terrific.

This little corner on the back side of the lake is usually filled with fishermen, but today it was empty, a nice little photo op :)

Lucky 7

Has the number 7 been lucky for you?  Sometimes I feel as if the number 7 is a lucky number for me; can't say it was an over the top lucky day today, but it was better than yesterday.

Today's ME:  I walked Sadie in the park, and got a great picture of the sunset. 

We can only be said to be alive in those moments 

when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  

~Thornton Wilder

Oh yeah, I also had a taco salad for dinner :)

Good Morning!

 

Hoppy Easter!

Hoppy 

Easter!

No one left me a basket of goodies,

and sadly, I wasn't blessed with a visit

from some male dressed as a bunny,

but I happened to see this lil bunny

on my walk in the park yesterday!

Day 9

I was too tired to post yesterday.  Work is going well..... errr, well enough.  As I get tired, I realized today that I can do my job, the functions that are performed every day.  But the more days I'm there, the harder it is to think about things outside the normal realm.  But that's ok... its nearly done and heading toward the weekend!


After my workout yesterday, I came home, put Sadie on her leash, loaded up the car and off we headed to Riparian Preserve (Our fav place to walk and take pix!)


A local photographer is posting challenges for photos -- and this week's topic was "Green".

Sadie and I stopped here along the creek and captured this hmmm... water grass.

There's something so peaceful about the sound of running water.  I've always loved that -- wouldn't a cabin near a river be a wonderful way to retire?





A new Personal Best today on the elliptical machine: 

2 miles in 27:45 - with a calorie burn of 318! 

(When I am working the mileage, my goal is to be more than 10 calories per minute -- which would have been 274 -- that's how I know I'm working harder than average)

My trainer is on vacation - but that doesn't stop him from being in touch!  Thanks, Russell, for the Happy St Pat's wishes!  And yes, even though you're not there, I'm still hitting it hard (just not as hard as when you're putting me through my paces!!!)

Pelicans

I'm big on animal totems and what they symbolize for us.

Today, on my walk at Riparian, there was a large number of American White Pelicans who've made a stopover here -- how amazing that I was actually walking in the park on that very day?  So I thought that might be important to follow up on.  Here's what I found:




Pelican demonstrates the power of reflection and insight, buoyancy in life and how ride the air currents of life. He teaches to rest and relax in spite of life's heavy weight. Pelican balances use of good fortune and abundance with responsibility and priorities. He has the ability to navigate emotions and aids in recovering what is lost whether it be emotional, mental or spiritual. Are you seizing the moment and enjoying what is before you? Do you recognize the abundance you already have? Perhaps it is time to count your blessings? Pelican aids in tapping into your feelings and putting them to wise use all the while peacefully balancing the world on your shoulders.

Astronomy

Today is National Astronomy Day!  It gives astronomy-lovers a chance to share their passion with the astronomy-curious.  There are two Astronomy Days a year, spring and fall.  If you have a chance, its a perfect opportunity to check out the views of the heavens!!  

In our local park, the observatory was open and we got to see the telescope -- impressive!  We looked at the sun and yep!  It's a big yellow ball. lol 


 



The Gilbert Rotary Centennial Observatory has provided heavenly views to an estimated 50,000 visitors since 2006.  "There's really nothing else like it in the Valley," said Lisa Herrmann, the education coordinator for the preserve.

"The observatory houses a 16-inch diameter Meade, modified Richey-Cretien scope, guided by a Paramount ME computer controlled German equatorial mount slaved to The Sky professional computer program. SRP contributed all funding for this state-of-the-art scope"

Herrmann said that "adults and children alike seem drawn to astronomy.   We are always trying to understand where we are in the universe and what is going on around us. There are so many exciting things left to be discovered."