Cookie, you must live in the country with those morning sounds. How peaceful. Tell us about the scenery on your stroll.

I'm hoping to get a walk in with a friend today. I walk late in the day with one friend, and other days I walk early in the morning with another friend. I tend to carry tension in my shoulders and walking really helps me with that.

Walking rocks!
Although I always walked long distances in the urban environments where I lived, out here in my current rural area is REALLY conducive to distance walking. It's amazing though, by far the most days I'm the only one out on foot, and I don't know how many times I've been asked if I want a ride, or if I'm "training for a marathon" or something. People just don't walk!!! It seems that people are almost threatened by seeing someone actually get off their butt and move it. Meanwhile, we are actually built to walk long distances - the Masai warrior peoples walk 25 miles a day as a matter of course.
I walk 5 days out of seven - the other two days I go to town, and for 5-6 miles each time(hey, a breeze compared to the Masai distance!). With a moderate diet, along with weight-training, weight control is automatic.
Also, people ask me if I "still" walk, as though it's expected that I should not exercise as much at the age of 58. It's well known at this time that exercise is even MORE important as we get older, and the sooner we start the better. Lots of what was considered inevitable aging is largely a function of dis-use.
A number of years ago, my aunt went to a lecture by an orthopedist who was talking to a group of older women, and he came right out and said this:
"I know I'm probably going to put myself out of business by saying this, but one of the best things you ladies can do to ward off osteoporosis and other disabilities is to walk, long and often!"

We have groves of trees and creeks surrounding our area so there is alot of nature living in there. Most mornings are peacful, but this morning I encountered a fox, which is not too unusal around here. We all see them from time to time. But...she just popped out of the wooded area a few feet in front of me to cross the road. She had youngin's so I gave her a WIDE berth cause we all know how mean mamma's can be when strangers approach their youngin's! I was thinking at the time I did not need to finish my walk because my heart rate was already up plenty high for an areobic workout. But nobody panicked...much. She went about her fast walk across the road, which I graciously let her go first, and then I went about mine, whew!

~Cookie~

Dotsie,
I love that you have more than one friend willing to walk with you...now that's REAL incentive to stick to your walking plan...I am back to walking in the park....it's pretty there but nothing like walking on the beach...unfortunately the park will have to do until my renters move out and I get the beach house back after Labor Day....99 more Days!!!
How depressing is that????

Back to the pool walking but hard finding the time to do it now....geesh!

Chatty...I just love to picture you marching around that pool...wish I could join you...

hmmm, that's weird. I thought I responded to this yesterday. Must have lost the post.

I walked this morning at 6:15 for 50 minutes with a freind. Great way to start the day.

Blondi, I hear you about walking on the beach. Your countdown reminds me of what my seniors were doing with the last day of school this year!

You caught me Dotsie!!..I have pretty much been acting like a kid for the past few weeks...pouting and sulking over missing my Avalon....I am doing a little better today....going shopping for annuals to fill all of the barrels in my backyard...we're hosting our annual Father's Day Crab Feast next Sunday with my family and my best friend Peggy's gang...it's always a great time....we eat hard shell crabs on the porch and listen to our grown up kids talk about their childhoods....funny...they seem to recall it quite differently than we do....lots of laughs though...all of my kids will be home except for my oldest Daughter who is still living in Washington state...great news on that front though...they are moving back east to DC in November when her husband will begin his final tour of duty with the navy at the Pentagon...I am sooooooo happy about that...

Nancy, and you envy me huh????? I would give up the pool all summer for a day like yours with your family eating hard shell crabs (my favorite) and talking and laughing ourselves silly...sounds just fabulous to me.

Chatty...come for a visit...I have plenty of room!!..