Category Archives: Pedestrain Post

Only 485 Miles To Go!

My well wishers will be pleased to hear I am walking again and attempting to do so on a regular basis. I keep meeting with setbacks, like having a cold or digestive upsets, and you know how these things are: you miss a day and it is so easy to miss two or three.  I have walked for the last six days in a row, so I will make bold to do a Pedestrian Post in lieu of my usual Monstrous Monday.

I had meant to do a Pedestrian Post with Pictures so took my phone with me, but I was soon so absorbed in walking that I was disinclined to stop and take pictures.  I do enjoy the act of walking, and when I can look around and enjoy the scenery and weather, it is even better.  I suppose it would make a better blog post if I could share the scenery with you, but we can’t have everything.  I will, however, explain my headline.

Earlier this summer, when I put aside my crutches, I started to think I could go back to walking.  As I pondered the idea, the song started playing in my head, “And I will walk 500 miles, and I will walk 500 more!”  Regular readers know my love of keeping journals.  I could keep a 500 mile walking journal!  Considering I would not even be able to walk a mile to begin with, this journal would no doubt last me a long time.  I found a large notebook I had not written anything in yet.

Oh dear, this does not seem to go with the preceding paragraphs, does it?

I started to get uncomfortable looking at all the prose with no pictures so threw in the one I did take on my walk.  I was walking with a bottle of water and in the direction of the spring, so when I finished the bottle I was all set to get a refill.  So I guess this is a Pedestrian Post with One Picture.

Regarding my grandiose dream of 500 miles, I hate to have to tell you when I started towards it, because the miles sure are adding up slowly.  In my defense, I point to the aforementioned setbacks.  Also, I do not count all my walking, for example when I walk to the post office or the Elks Lodge.  This is because I have a tendency to forget to turn off my Garmin on these walks, so they do not get counted correctly anyways.  The beauty part about that is, my body still benefits from the walk.

I petted one sweet dog on this morning’s walk.  I want to start taking my walks as soon as I get out of bed.  Maybe I will be watching the sun rise soon.  I wonder if I can get a good picture of the sunrise.

 

 

A Walk of Some Lame

I thought I would do a kind of a combination Lame Post Friday and Pedestrian Post this morning.  When I discovered I had left my Garmin plugged in overnight, I took that as my sign I should walk right away.  It was prior to 8 a.m., an excellent time for a stroll.

Regular readers know I have not been walking as much as previously and I have not been running at all.  I recently started to get back into a routine of walking every morning, only to come down with a nasty cold or sinus thing that sidelined me, followed by a stomach thing more recently.  Yes, I am whining a lot, stop playing that miniature violin (you know who you are)!

The wreckage of my running dreams?

I felt delightful this morning, and moreso as I began to walk.  I decided to walk downtown and try to check the progress of the demolition of a building on Main Street.  The above picture was taken a week or more ago, when the building had just come down.  They are hard at work clearing away all the debris.  There is another condemned structure, but apparently the village lacks the funds for more demolition.

Another view.

I did not bring my phone with me so did not take a picture of what is currently there.  Perhaps later when I go to have a drink at Pete’s Tavern or the End Zone.  Uh, I mean when I go down to shop at Collis Hardware or Mohawk Valley Community Market (see how I slide in plugs for local businesses?).

I walked for a mile and a quarter and it felt great.  Now I have blogged for over 250 words, and that doesn’t feel too bad either.  Time to get on with my Friday!

 

No Monsters, But Monday Mosey

My well-wishers will be pleased to know I started walking again.  Today I took my cellphone with me so I could do a Pedestrian Post with Pictures in lieu of my usual Monstrous Monday (no promises about Tuesday).  I had neglected to charge my Garmin so paused for a cup of tea before I headed out.  I was still well ahead of the heat of the day.  I strolled down German Street, feeling pleased that I could.  I must say it is so wild to me to feel perfectly capable of walking down the street when two months ago I couldn’t make it to the bathroom without lying down halfway and taking a break (for those of you who thought I was done whining about my aches and pains, I do not know why you got your hopes up).

Trees are so cool!

I had noticed the branches of this tree on a previous walk and thought it would make a good picture.  I’m nobody’s photographer, but for purposes of this blog, I will have to do.

Alas, that you probably cannot read the sign.

Just to give a plug to a local business, Raindrops on Roses Bed and Breakfast.  They also have a wine tasting room with a garden (perhaps you read my blog posts about it).  They sometimes have music in the summer.  I know this, because they recently had to cancel one due to weather.  I must watch for another.  For one reason, it would make a good blog post.  For another, wine.

I do like to see running water.

I paused to take a picture while going over the bridge which was recently replaced there.  Very nice.  It wasn’t such an inconvenience going around while they were working on it, but it is always nice when these projects are finished.

Still known as HCCC or H-trip-C to locals.

I also took a picture of the college sign.  I took other pictures as I continued to walk, but I see I am over 300 words now.  I thought as I was going that more than three would be too many but also thought I could always use them in a Waste Not Want Not Wednesday post.  It is nice to have plans for the rest of the week.

 

A Nice Walk, A Short Post

I took a walk today, bringing my phone along in hopes of doing a Pedestrian Post with Pictures in lieu of my usual Lame Post Friday post.  Technically, I suppose yesterday’s post was a Pedestrian Post with Pictures, because I took pictures as I walked home from the Elks Lodge and used them in a post, but this time I was doing it with specific intent.  Also, I have not been taking many walks lately.  This one was twenty minutes long and did not feel too bad.  I may be back to my bad ass walking and running self soon (I use “bad ass” in the most generous and self-flattering sense of the term).

I should do something like this in my front lawn.

I always like the little spaces with the low stone fences.  I’m afraid my phone doesn’t really show up the colors very well.  What do I want from a crappy TracFone (or whatever it’s called).  I shouldn’t be so cheap, I suppose.

I’d like a little burro, too!

This little guy is often dressed for the season.  Today I admired his patriotic necktie.  I also like the flowers.  I need some lawn decorations.  I think I have some frogs somewhere.

Pretty!

I was bold enough to walk a few places up somebody’s driveway for the irises.  I used to have irises, but there is no sign of them this year.  I may be able to get more bulbs when my mother thins hers out again.

My walk was not very long, but I enjoyed it.  I hope to take another one tomorrow, perhaps before the sun is up when the birds are singing.  We’ll see how early I can bestir myself.

 

A Walk in the Cold

I have been way too sedentary with the bad weather, so I thought I would take a walk with my phone and make a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  For one reason, it was supposed to be warmer today: double digits at least!  I wrote a post card to an aunt, thinking I could walk by the post office, put on a coat, hat, mittens, and boots (not in that order), and set out.

The beauty part about walking through the snow is that it is more of an effort than walking on bare pavement.  Full disclosure:  sometimes I went into the road and walked on bare pavement.  I need to get out and walk more.  My legs got tired easily!

I believe the time was accurate.

This is not the first picture I took, but I thought it would look good as the photo showing when I share the link on Facebook.  It is on Albany Street in Herkimer, in front of Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner, which I did not get a picture of.  Silly me. What I would have liked to get a picture of was Meyers Park. It was a grey and gloomy day, and the bare trees looked really cool against the sky.  The gazebo looked a little forlorn, not at all how it looks when the bands are on it at the Herkimer Downtown ChowDown.  But I had no faith in my abilities, and I could not decide which angle to shoot from anyways.

Yes, I stop here sometimes; judge me if you like (you know who you are).

If I had wanted to walk with a nefarious purpose, as I did on a long ago blog post, I could have stopped at The End Zone.  Don’t think I wasn’t tempted.  It was colder than I thought it was!

Another local watering hole of note.

Likewise, I did not stop at Pete’s Tavern.  I kept walking, checking my watch to see how long I had walked.  The wind picked up, and I was sorry I had not worn a scarf.  I soon decided three pictures was enough, the walk was long enough, I was going home!  By this time I had walked far enough that the walk ended up being just over a half hour.  That seems healthy enough for me.

And my blog post is approaching 400 words.  That seems healthy, too.  I’ll try for a Mohawk Valley Adventure tomorrow.

 

Walk, then Wrist

Oh well, I thought it had been another week since I last posted, but it seems it is a matter of three days only.  I’m not sure what malaise I suffer, but let us not worry about it, shall we?  For one reason, I ought not encourage myself to whine over my real or imagined ills.

Still there! Still red!

I throw in a picture to pep things up.  I fear this will be a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  For one reason, it is Sunday.  For another, well, I said I ought not encourage myself to whine, but I admit I tend to do so with little or no encouragement.  I took that picture yesterday when I went for a walk.  That tree has been cheering me up for some time now.  I am impressed by how long the bright leaves have lasted.  Yesterday’s walk cheered me up, too.  Exercise is a magic elixir, I find.

A local landmark.

This was the other picture I took on yesterday’s walk.  It is now an apartment building, but it was the Margaret Tuger School, remembered by some of Herkimer’s older residents.  They brag about being paddled by Ms. Tuger.  I first heard of her when I saw her portrait at the Herkimer County Historical Society.  I was fired with ambition to write a biography about her.  Unfortunately, I had no idea how to research and write a biography.  I still don’t, but I love to read them.

In addition to my walk, I went to a rummage sale at Herkimer Reformed Church yesterday.  I thought of going to a tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor, but my steps took me in another direction.  So I did at least three blogworthy activities yesterday.  I will content myself with this Pedestrian Post, and hope to post again before another three days pass.  Once again, I thank you for tuning in.

 

Walking the Blahs Away

I took a walk today, hoping to make a Pedestrian Post with Pictures.  Full disclosure:  I had a hard time getting started this morning and a hard time getting anything done.  The Monday blahs?  Could be, but what is my excuse for the rest of the week?  However, my purpose here is not to whine but to blog, so let me get on with it.

It is important to me to run or walk every day, for my mental and physical health.  Yesterday I did not walk very much but did some work out in the yard so pretended that counted.  This morning I could not convince myself to run, and it was afternoon before I finally got out and walked.  First I wrote some post cards to a few of my post card peeps.  Regular readers may recall that I like to send post cards to people who could use a pick-me-up or that I just want to say hello to. I put them in my bag along with my cell phone, my notebook (the paper spiral-bound kind) and library card (it is on a key chain) in case I ended up at the library.  I put on my Garmin and off I went.

It felt good to walk.  I saw a dog standing in front of a house and wondered if I should turn town the next street to avoid him.  Then I saw his person putting what I thought was doggy doo in the trash.  The dog was patiently waiting for him.  What a good dog! I didn’t turn.

“He was so nicely waiting for you just now,” I said to the person when I reached them.  “What a good dog!”

“He was waiting for you,” the guy said. “He wants to say hi.”

I said hi and asked if I could pet him, and did.  He was a very sweet dog.  I continued my walk, turning down Main Street.  I soon came to Herkimer Reformed Church.   That church always fascinates me, because it has a graveyard.

I may walk in and read some of the gravestones one day.

I did not pause long, because I was, after all, walking for my health.  I proceeded past Basloe Library, where I did not take a picture, and to the post office to mail my post cards.  Then I continued my walk, deciding not to end at the library after all.  I got to pet another dog, a cute little puppy.  I asked the guy walking him if I could.  He said yes, but the dog was a little skittish.  He picked him up and said, “You’re OK, Ace.”  Ace let me rub his chest a little (most dogs like it when you do that).

I took one other picture.  In an overgrown lot, I noticed some cool-looking yellow flowers.  I suppose there are apps that tell you what different flowers are, but I don’t know from apps.  Maybe I could look for a book on flowers at the library, when I finally get there.

Is it just me, or do they look a little Halloweeny?

I walked for over a half hour and was glad I went.  I see I have blathered on for quite some time in the blog post.  If you have read the whole thing, I thank you.

 

A Short Walk, A Short Post

Oh it is a bad blogging week.  I keep missing days.  There is no point in blaming it on anything, because I have blogged under adverse conditions before.  Today I took a walk, despite being a little concerned about the wildfire smoke, which WKTV Weather tells me will dissipate slowly.  I did not run or walk yesterday, after feeling quite headachey on Wednesday.  Whine, whine whine!  Sorry about that.  But I am sensitive to these atmospheric conditions.  Really, I am quite the delicate flower.  What are you laughing at? (You know who you are.)

Like this tree, I have fallen down on the job.

When I took a walk earlier in the week, I was rather taken by a fallen tree but did not photograph it.  I decided to walk by it again today. I have a kind of a fascination with dead trees.

Another angle.

My plan was not to go for a very long walk.  Maybe one mile; about 20 some minutes.  I do like to walk, and I feel it helps with my depression.

I must up my lawn decoration game.

I had to take a picture of the cute little horse, being careful not to include anything identifying about the house it was in front of.  I try to respect other people’s privacy, although I’m not sure how much of that any of us really has.  I can’t worry about these things when I have a headache.

I did get some blooms!

Returning home, I went into the backyard to get a picture of my Black-Eyed Susans, which managed to bloom after I had mowed them down earlier this summer.

Pretty!

I zoomed in on a few.  I guess this is not such a much as a post, but it wasn’t such a much as a walk either.  However, I enjoyed the walk, and I believe it is possible some readers will enjoy my blog post.  Once again, I thank you for tuning in.

 

I Walked; I Didn’t High Tail It

Oh dear, once again I did not post on Sunday.  Will I post twice today (Monday) to make up for it?  That would be nice, but no promises.  In the meantime, I took a walk this morning, carrying my phone in hopes of making a Pedestrian P0st with Pictures (Freudian typo:  Poost.  My post is poo?  Also I left the i out of pictures.  I have no “eye” for photography?) (or perhaps I am overthinking it, kind of a hobby of mine).

This is kind of what I look like while I’m walking.

I did not see this on my walk; I took it yesterday at my sister Cheryl’s house.  She was having her annual Lantern Festival, but we also had a cook-out and swam in her pool.  We had a lovely time; Cheryl is really the hostess with the mostest.

Oh deer.

Today’s walk was not such a much.  I saw very little picture-worthy.  I was amazed at some of the overgrowth on some of the porches, houses, and garages, but I didn’t think it was nice to take pictures of those (although it did inspire me for a horror novel I might write).  It was toward the end of my walk I saw the deer.  I wonder if I can ever get a good shot of deer running away.  I like the way their tails flash white, reminding us where we get the expression, “high tail it out of there.”

Maybe I should have zoomed in.

Right after seeing the deer, I saw some pretty flowers along the roadside.  I do not know what they are.  I think there are apps you can get that tell you what flowers are, but I don’t know from apps.  I was headed towards the spring to refill my water bottle.  Must stay hydrated after all.

Pretty!

And here is another shot from Cheryl’s house.  I never quite got a container garden this year.  I bought some plants and put them in pots, but they remain on my messy porch waiting for me to water them.  This is why I like it when it rains.

I guess this is another placeholder post, but at least I was not whining about my depression or other ills.  Oops.  Never mind.  I’ll see what I can do to make the next post memorable.  As always, I thank you for tuning in.

 

Walking, Sharon, Walking, Snowball, Walking, Books, Walking…

I went for a walk instead of a run this morning so took my phone in hopes of making a Pedestrian Post with Pictures. I met with some success.

Lots of blooms!

I was interested to note a Rose of Sharon with a lot of blossoms.  Yesterday I spent some time trying to rescue my own Rose of Sharon from the encroachments of  the wild grape vine which has been taking over my lawn (there may be a good horror story there).  I noticed a few blooms but could not stop to admire them amidst my clipping and pulling.  I must spend more time waging the battle against the grape vines.  Why, oh why, could they not be grapes which could produce wine?

Another healthy bush!

A block or so later, I admired this snowball bush.  I would like one of those myself.  I love how the blossoms turn brown in the fall.  Also you can clip the white ones and put them in food coloring to make colors.

Alas, nothing I wanted to read.

I walked for a while with no more photo ops before seeing this Little Free Library on the road that is really a parking lot between Park Avenue and Church Street near the school.  I continued my walk looking more for shade than picture opportunities.  It was becoming warm, although I thought I had gotten out early enough.  I suppose I am more sensitive to the heat than some.  Back home I went into my own backyard to take a picture of my own Rose of Sharon.

I do love flowers!

I zoomed in.  I tried zooming out to show how tall the bush has gotten, but I had nothing to show perspective.  Another opportunity to miss my wonderful husband, Steve, who would have been happy to stand there looking cute.  But I do not mean to introduce a sad note.  My walks and runs are for my mental health as much as my physical well-being.  Being able to use them for blog posts is merely a welcome side effect.