Saturday stroll

It wasn't exactly a stroll. The walking group started out from the parking area of a church and immediately started down a fairly steep road to the beach.

As we walked along a narrow concrete walkway, a cormorant with outstretched wings was drying off after it's dip.

Along the first part of the beach front, we walked behind the houses, where we were able to look into the yards of the homes. This little patch of different colored heathers made a striking display.

The walkway then took us along the front of the houses which looked as though they were some of the first to be built here. The name on the front of the building is "Drift Inn"

I think that is a wisteria growing on the arbor of this quaint little beach house, and can imagine how lovely it will look when in flower.

This beach house has seen better days.

I sure would like to have some driftwood like this for my yard, but it would take some heavy equipment to get logs this size on our property.

After our nice leisurely stroll along the beach front, we were then faced with this steep road to traverse. It is a lot steeper than the photo depicts.

Looking back down to where we started up the incline, which is just below the house.
I am only about a quarter of the way up the road before it leveled out and we could catch our breath. After reaching the top we started out on another road which had some nice inclines to give us a workout.

We walked through some lovely wooded areas and this tree covered in ferns caught my eye.

The gardener in me could visualize a fern covered tree like this one, in my garden.
Even though there was a light rain for most of our walk we all enjoyed our time together and look forward to meeting again.
According to my new pedometer, I walked 3.457 miles, burned 281.6 calories, and took 10432 steps. That is if I calibrated the pedometer correctly.

BLAH

It has been one of those kind of weeks. It must be this dreary weather which has me feeling out of sorts, although the sun has been out a couple of days, there has been a very crisp wind which was way too cold to allow me play outside in my garden.
I know I should get up off my tush and exercise, I am not inclined. I know I should get out and walk every day, I am not inclined, I can't seem to get motivated to do much of anything.
I also find it depressing, and my feelings are bruised, that there are people I have known for years, all of a sudden seem to not want to stay in contact with me. I have emailed them and get no reply, I have invited them to be my friends on face book so I know they are still around. If I have done something to offend them I sure would like to know what it is, so I could set things straight.
Blogging has fallen off as there is nothing going on worth talking about. I go to work, come home do my chores, cook meals, then start the whole process over again the next day. Sheesh! I am in a funk.

"Bun" says

I wonder if we can train our bunny to open letters

"Ya gotta be kidding"

Bunny letter opener

The Great Blue Heron

Here on Whidbey Island we have the privilege of seeing this magnificent bird on the shore, or in flocks in fields.

For weeks I have been trying to capture some good photos of the birds, but they were always way off in the distance, as in this first photo taken several weeks ago.

Today was a different story. The birds, about fifteen of them, had gathered in the field they like to frequent, much closer to the road. This time I was able to get better pictures.

Aren't they fabulous?

This one decided to perch on the fence post, and keep an eye on me as I photographed his buddies in the field.

A wonderful hike

Saturday was sunny, the temperature around 51 degrees, a perfect day for a hike on the trails at Greenbank.

The group, nine of us plus two dogs, walked mostly through a wooded at area for close on two hours. To reach the trail through the trees, we had to hike a short distance on a trail through the fields. The trail was damp underfoot, and in some places very muddy, but we all were wearing sturdy shoes so a little wet mud did not bother us at all.

The ferns were about three feet tall, and I sure would like to have some like these growing under the trees around our house.

We passed through this lightly wooded area and on up the trail entering into a very dense and much darker wooded area. The tranquility under the canopy of trees as we walked the trail was very soothing.

It is hard to tell from the photo, but this part of the trail has a fairly steep incline and I found I was almost breathless by the time I reached the top. I was about halfway up looking back down, when I took this photo.

Little Samantha, a senior doggy of 13 years, walked the trail with us. The other dog, a black Labrador was called Duke

When we arrived back at the car park, someone asked if anyone would like to go to the restaurant for pie and coffee. Ohh! YES I would love pie and coffee, wait a minute, pie is out of the question, so I will have to settle for the coffee, all this conversation was going on in my head. I did go with the group into the restaurant and I drank my coffee while the others ate pie with theirs. Way to go Keewee, what will power you have!

It is easier than I thought it would be

The sunrise was so beautiful this morning, heralding a lovely day ahead.

Tomorrow it will be one full week of my diet and exercise program. So far I have pretty much stayed on track and have lost 1lb which is enough for one week.
I am still playing around with menus, and every evening I plan ahead for the next days meals and snacks. At the end of the day, if I like the food I have chosen and feel full and satisfied, I print out a copy so I can repeat the menu in the future.I am not one to eat the same foods day after day, as it becomes very boring and will eventually lead me to look for something new, and usually I eat some thing which is convenient and not on my plan. I then get upset and scold myself for falling off the wagon.
Today, I am joining a group for a two hour hike. Saturdays will be a good for me as I do not work on the weekends, work does get in the way of play *chuckle*
I will let you know tomorrow how the hike goes.

It is time, actually it is way past time.

Over the last five years my lifestyle changed and so did my weight and fitness level. At first I did not pay too much attention, but now I know I have to get back in shape, and lose about 10lbs. I will give it my best shot. I know I am not a young thing any longer, and it will not be easy, but I have to at least try.
The biggest challenge is the exercise I hate to exercise.

The Internet is a grand thing when you are looking for tools to help in your endeavors. I came across MyFitnessPal, which for me, is going to work the best. I can enter all the foods I eat for each day, including all the nutritional stats, log all exercise I do, track my weight lost every week, and have the support of others in the program, and it is all FREE.
A feature I really like, is that I went in and planned menus for a whole week, then printed them out, so every day I know exactly what I will have for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Having the menus planned and printed, also tells me what foods I need to purchase.
I started my new lifestyle changes yesterday and liked all the food I had chosen for the day, and, I actually got on my stair climber and put in a "little" time which was not as easy as I remember it had been in the past. This tells me I am really out of shape.
So, wish me luck, and stop by now and again to check my progress.