Tag Archives: walking

Attempt at a Pedestrian Post

Posted on April 8, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I saw a couple of things on my run this morning I wanted to take pictures of.  Since people tend to like my Pedestrian Posts with pictures,  I set out this afternoon with my Tablet.  I wore my crazy old lady hat, which has a wide brim, and my prescription sunglasses.  It was one of those walks where the bright sun made it hard to tell if pictures were any good.  Luckily, I think I have enough for a good post.

I hope you can see the buds.

The first thing I saw was a magnolia tree with buds that looked close to blooming.  I do love a magnolia tree.

The picture doesn’t do them justice.

Next I saw some daffodils.  My own daffodils have yet to make an appearance, but once I got my crocuses, I feel hopeful for everything.

These were right near the daffodils.

I continued down German Street towards Valley Health, where some miniature daffodils had caught my eye.

Aren’t they pretty?

What fascinated me about these blooms was that they were surrounded by dried crap from last fall.  Nobody had bothered to cultivate them, so it seemed, yet they were determined to spread beauty and happiness.  Or do I credit flowers with more thought processes than they actually posses?  I don’t really know about these things.

A longer view.

I tried to get a shot of the tiered beds that held the daffodils, but I don’t know how successful I was.  But you can see all the brown competing with them.

And now a note about writing:  a common piece of advice is do not worry about mood; start writing and the mood will follow.  It is not always true.  As I write this, each word is getting just a little bit harder.  I feel I should not share that, because, well why bother you with my petty problems?  And yet, other writers may find it comforting.

Or not.  In any case, I am over 300 words, and I still have enough pictures for tomorrow’s post.  I’m going to call this a Tired Tuesday post and drive on.

 

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Late Post, But Here Are Some Crocuses

Posted on April 5, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

When in doubt, open with flowers.

This is embarrassing.  I completely forgot to make my blog post last night.  I was watching movies, chatting with my husband, drinking wine…  You know how these thing go.

Earlier in the day, I went for a longish run and fully intended to make a Saturday Running Commentary post.  I went for a long walk but did not bring my Tablet with me.  And that’s about my life these days.  Not a bad life, but not so good for blogging purposes.

The earth, however, continues to go about its business, and I was delighted to see that we finally got a few crocuses.

Look for it, it’s there!

A couple days ago I first noticed a little bit of purple and a few buds. I said, “Yay!”  Yesterday, I saw that some of the buds had bloomed too.

My favorites are the white with purple veins.

 

And one more off to the side!

The two lovelies I opened with are in the back yard. I always say I have to take my happiness wherever I can, and the crocuses make me happy.  Noticing last fall’s leaves which I still have to rake, less so.  Then again, raking is exercise that gets me out into the fresh air.  It might even make a good blog post.

 

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Walking on Wednesday

Posted on April 2, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I took my Tablet with me on today’s walk to the post office.  For one reason, I had noticed a couple of cheery sights on my runs, and I like to share a cheery sight.  I found a few other cheery things to photo as I went.   As usual, the sun made it difficult to know at the time if the photos were any good.  Let us see.

I must find some paint suitable for rocks.

These were across the street from me.  I also saw rocks painted like bugs outside of Valley Health but have not yet walked up there with my Tablet.

Ooh, you can even see my pinky sticking out while I snap.

I was delighted to see some sidewalk art.  I took a few pictures of it.

A little too much shadow on this one.

 

I especially liked this image.

 

And the walk leading up to the house.

I took a longish way to the post office and found a few more photo ops.

You can just about see the “egg.”

This house had other Easter stand-ups, but I was trying to get the little gold ball next to the chick.  It looked to me like a leftover Christmas ball, but perhaps it was meant to be an Easter egg.

I love, Love, LOVE crocuses!

I walked up these people’s driveway to get a good shot of their crocuses.  I am SO going to put down more crocus bulbs in my yard this fall!

There by accident or design?

I think this was an artificial flower and possibly blew there from somewhere else, but I liked it, so I took a picture.

I think the idea is to walk along the snake. Looks fun to me!

This is on the path over what used to be a hydraulic canal.  There are other fun areas painted, but this was the easiest to photograph today.  Someday I hope to bring my great nephew and niece on the path.  I’ll be sure to make a blog post about it when I do!

In the meantime,  I am enjoying my solitary walks.  I highly recommend exercise in the fresh air when possible.

 

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Memories of Walks Past

Posted on April 1, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

It seems silly to have a Tired Tuesday post when I haven’t been to work or been doing a whole lot around the house either.  Yet, here I am.  For me it is the last day of March, although my WordPress timestamp says it is April 1.  Well, I can’t spend a whole blog post whining (yes, I know I have done it before, and how unhandsome of you to remind me) (you know who you are). Quick, throw in a picture to pep things up.

One of my favorite neighborhood trees.

I went back to March 2019 looking for pictures of Herkimer, NY (where I live).  I did not take my Tablet with me on my last couple of walks.  Today’s walk was the highlight of my day.  It was a relaxed, meditative sort of walk.  I felt sad but knew I had good reason to. Walking made me feel a little better.

A more recent picture:  Herkimer County Courthouse, a local landmark.

I often find myself walking by Herkimer Historic Four Corners.

Do you suppose the park is haunted?

I almost always walk through Myers Park on my daily trek to the post office (full disclosure: I missed Sunday).  When I notice that it was a burying ground, I flash on the scene in Poltergeist:  “You son of a bitch!  You DIDN’T MOVE THE BODIES!!!”

I did not write this note, but I could have.

To end on a lighter note, here is a note I found on the sidewalk one morning when taking my cool down walk after a run.  I brought it home,  because naturally I thought it was meant for my husband Steven.

I will probably go for a walk and/or run tomorrow.  I may blog about it, or another topic may magically appear.  Any suggestions?  If so, please comment below (hey, that rhymed!).

 

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Dressing Up My House for the Occasion

Posted on March 29, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I started a home improvement project I hope to add to in the coming days.  I saw on the news that some people were decorating their houses for the amusement of passersby.  This is especially helpful, the feeling is, as we are free to take solitary walks but must not actually visit our neighbors.  Full disclosure: my neighbors have almost never visited me, although they are certainly welcome to do so in better times.  That said, I know various pedestrians pass our humble abode, and I am happy to give them something extra to look at.

The view from across the street.

When Steven saw me coming down from the attic laden with various stuff, he said, “What are you doing?”  However, he approved of the project.  I put a Christmas ribbon and some tulips on Frankentree.

I think I need more stuff.

I put two scarecrows, a pumpkin, and a skull on the porch,.

I need to zoom in more.

 

And on the other side of the tree…

I hope to add to my porch in the coming days.  I think I have more stuff in my house, but I do not rule out a trip to the dollar store.  For one reason, I heard they have toilet paper.

Another thing is putting stuffed toys in your window, so neighborhood kids can go on safari.  I immediately put a tiger and lamb in one of my windows.  Alas, I could not get a good picture of them.

Too many reflections!

I also put a couple of teddy bears in an upstairs window.  Unfortunately it is raining so I cannot get any more pictures today.  However, it is a work in progress.  I will post more pictures as my decorations improve.  As always,  I hope you’ll stay tuned.

 

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Lame Pictures, Lame Post

Posted on March 28, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

This will not be a typical Lame Post Friday post.  For one reason, it is not a typical Friday,  a phenomenon being experienced by many of us.  In fact,  I daresay most of us, because even if you are at work, things are hardly typical.  But why am I telling us what we already know and are tired of thinking about?  My bad.  On with the post.

Can you see the buds?

When I took my walk to the post office, I brought my Tablet but did not think I would take any pictures.  After all, I can’t post about my walk every day, can I?  No, really, do you think I can?  Then I saw buds on some trees and tried to get a picture.  Perhaps I should have zoomed in.

Again, I should have zoomed in.

My own crocuses have not appeared, but I took a picture of somebody else’s.

Dammit, you can’t see the buds here either!

This is a magnolia tree which will look magnificent as the season progresses. I’ll make sure to take another picture then.  Next, I crossed the street to try to get a picture of some little white flowers.  I must learn the names of these things.

Oh dear, another one that looked better in real life.

I think I must up my picture-taking game.  On the other hand, I’m going to consider this OK for Lame Post Friday.  Yes, times are atypical, yet I will still take advantage of the calendar.  Happy Friday,  all.

 

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Wednesday Walk, With Trees

Posted on March 26, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I took a longer walk yesterday, but I took a few pictures today.  I think I’ll try for a Wordless Wednesday post, although with me, I’m afraid there will always be words.  Yesterday when I walked, there was snow in the air and on the ground.  Today, Steven and I were vindicated for our decision not to shovel, because most of it was gone.  I reveled in the almost warm temperatures and looked for signs of spring to photo.

Look! It really is spring!

The first picture-worthy thing I encountered were some flowers sprouting up in front of St. Francis de Sales Church.  I love to see a little green in March!

And here is St. Fran the Man.

I backed up a little, to show where the sprouts were.  It was one of those days where I couldn’t properly see what I was aiming at with the Tablet.  I just clicked and hoped for the best. Would any of the pictures be usable?  The suspense added a little interest to my walk.

You see the best of dead and living this time of year.

Across the street from the church, I snapped a picture of a tree dried out from last summer.  Some of these dried plants are beautiful.  I must get a few for my own yard.

One of my favorite views.

As I walked, I continually admired the bare trees against the sky.  I’m afraid my Tablet does not capture the look, so you will have to take your own walk, if possible.

Just the possibility of a tree, so far.

On my way home from the post office, I noticed some recently planted trees on Bellinger Street.  I took pictures.  My hope is to take more as the year progresses so we can track their progress.

You can see buds on this one!

 

This one, not so much.

 

And here are several at once.

I am thinking I can continue to photograph these trees as the years go by, and we can all watch them grow.  How’s that for a bit of optimism,  thinking we’ll all be here for years and years so we can look at trees? What better reason to stick around?

 

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Just Another Day of Quarantine

Posted on March 25, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

After logging onto WordPress at least three times, I found that no blog post was forthcoming.  I know, I know, blog posts don’t just happen; you have to WRITE them.  Well, here I am, early Wednesday morning, trying to do just that.

My sister Diane approved Monday Punday and further suggested Tuesday Cruise Day. I could take a walk, run or ride, and blog about that.  That would have the charm of rhyme over my usual features of Running Commentary and Pedestrian Post.  Accordingly,  I went for both a run and a walk.

My walk was to the post office, because I had written a few more post cards.  I took a long walk before arriving home.  I put my Tablet in a bag.  It was a lovely shoulder bag purchased at Paca Gardens in Little Falls, NY, just to throw in a plug for a local business. Alas, it was snowing and I got no pictures.

Returning home, I read a book, looked at Facebook, watched some movies.  I called Salvatore’s Pizzeria and Restaurant in Herkimer for dinner.  Yum!  Later I heard it was National Take-out Day.  We got delivery, so perhaps it did not count.  Perhaps we should do real take-out tonight, just to be sure.

I see I am over 200 words, so I guess I’ll call it a Tired Tuesday post and hit Publish.  We’ll see if I can do better than a Wuss-Out Wednesday post later today.

 

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A Saturday at Home

Posted on March 22, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have allowed it to become rather late in the day to make my Saturday blog post.  I know, I should have made a Saturday Running Commentary post earlier.  Then I walked to the post office with my weekly post cards, making a Pedestrian Post completely eligible.  Later yet, my husband, Steven, and I watched a few movies.  Saturday Cinema is not usually a thing, but it could be.

What today really was was Day One of the Quackenbush Quarantine,  as Steven dubbed it on Facebook yesterday.  I know, almost everyone is under quarantine,  but how many of us can be alliterative about it?  Yet another blessing for me to count.

Really, as things go, I have very little to complain about (not that THAT ever stops me!).  I am grateful for all my blessings and concerned for those that lack same.  I ask myself, what can I do to help?  One thing I did was to write more than my usual number of post cards.  I figure as we’re all stuck inside, not visiting anybody or gathering at the usual places,  a little personal mail would be welcome.

Next I hope to use my at home time to get my house together and to do more writing.  I am thinking about a new novel to start, one I may actually finish.  Then maybe I can dig out and finish the plays I have almost completed.

Oh, such ambitious plans!  Who knows but what I will do is go on more runs and watch more movies?  At least I will write a blog post about whatever I do.  Happy Corona Saturday, everyone.

 

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Scattered Sunday? Or Time to Swoon?

Posted on March 16, 2020 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t see why I should not have a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  We’re all stuck home, trying not to spread Covid-19 (such a comfort to call it by a name not shared by a beer or a typewriter).  Nobody can reasonably expect me to have a real Mohawk Valley Adventure.

In fact, I did leave the house, but I hope not in an unsafe fashion.  I went for a nice run this morning.  Later I went to a big box store (no need to name names) for yarn.  Then I went to Little Falls to take a walk along the canal.  I hope to write about it for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I hope they like what I will come up with.  In any case, it was a pleasant walk.

After walking and taking a few pictures,  I returned to Herkimer to buy groceries.  I observed a few bare shelves, but I managed to get most of what I was looking for.  I was exceptionally happy to return home for the bra off, sweatpants on, movie watching portion of the day.

I have been enjoying my day but feel a bit guilty about not making a good blog post.  Shall I swoon onto a handy chaise lounge,  posed dramatically with the back of one wrist to my forehead?  I shall decide as time goes on.  I wonder if I could manage a selfie of same for tomorrow’s blog post.

 

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