Thanks, Nurse Jo

Mine is a sedentary lifestyle, and I'm okay with that. But the medical profession just won't leave well enough alone. Towards the end of May, I had my Medicare physical. My doctor's nurse did all the preliminary work, including asking a lot of nosy questions. One of those was, "Are you still walking for exercise?" My mind was searching for the occasion on which I might have made such a statement. Nurse Jo said that my chart said that I had said that I was trying to walk regularly, as of my last visit. Who knew they actually wrote that stuff down?

So Nurse Jo said, "Can I put down that you walk two miles twice a week?" I agreed to that. And do you know what? That casual agreement nagged at me every time I tried to talk myself out of walking. After all, it was now in writing on my medical chart. And, because of Nurse Jo pushing me to commit to regular walking, I've logged almost 150 miles in the last 16 weeks. (I know...it's not the 10,000 steps a day that Dr. Oz pushes for, but it's way better than I had been doing.)

The nearby reservoir that I mentioned here has added immeasurably to my walking experience this summer. The path around the reservoir is just under three miles, and I usually add a little to it to make it a three-mile trip. Earlier this summer, especially, there were so many birds and flowers to photograph, not to mention sunrises and sunsets. In fact, the photo in my blog header was shot there, just a couple of weeks ago.

Anyway, here are some of the things that have kept me walking this year:

I had to zoom in on this bald eagle, so the picture isn't as sharp as I would have liked.

There were three or four loons early in the season, but they seem to have migrated elsewhere now.

 

Great Blue Heron

 

Great Blue Heron in Flight

 

 

 

Goldfinch

These three geese have been injured and can no longer fly. They have found sanctuary at the reservoir and have become best buds.

This goose couple raised their two offspring at the reservoir during the summer.

I had always referred to this flower as a Cornflower, but I have recently learned
(thanks to Hilary at The Smitten Image) that it's real name is Chicory. 

Queen Anne's Lace

Trumpet Vine Flower

I don't know what this is, and I didn't notice that it was alive with ants until I downloaded the photo to my computer and enlarged it.

I think this is a milkweed pod, and it was covered with these boxelder bugs.

Sunrise at the Reservoir

Another Sunrise at the Reservoir

This group of dog owners gets together every Saturday morning to walk and socialize their dogs at the reservoir. This happened to be one of those mornings with the fog rising off the water.

Thanks for letting me share this little corner of my world with you. And thanks, Nurse Jo, for helping to motivate me to get out there and walk. Without your nudge, I would have missed some of the opportunities to behold the beauty that my morning walks have afforded me.