My morning walks in the park are more than exercise, it’s my way of communing with nature.
Each step is deliberate and purposeful. I take in the sights and sounds. This is my church.
The sun begins to rise, casting a warm glow upon the freshly watered grass.
I’m not alone. I never am. Even when there’s very few people around, which is the case shortly after sunrise, I can count on the birds to keep me company.
The morning air becomes my medicine, and I feel present and alive while exploring the quiet dawning of a new day.
And so, I walk … awake, aware, and ready to greet the day.
It’s over!
My outdoor walks have come to an end. Sigh! My communing with nature has come to an end, a temporary end. Sigh! It’s June in the desert southwest. It’s hot. There is no longer any lingering of crispness in the air, and morning walks are best done before sunrise. Yes, before sunrise!
I had already given up hiking on the trails in April due to the desert heating up which brings out our slithering creatures. In lieu of the rugged trails, I embraced a groomed park complete with paved walkways and no snakes, hopefully. And I was enjoying it, loving it, relishing it until the summer heat showed up and overnight temps no longer provided a reprieve.
I consider myself a morning person. However, I do draw a line at walks prior to sunrise which is around 5:15 a.m. right now, and with overnight low temperatures barely dropping below 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26C), my morning walks have unfortunately moved indoors. The treadmill and I will be well acquainted by the time fall rolls around.
While those in other places are enjoying the great outdoors this time of year, summer in the desert is when we remain indoors.
However, all is not lost. With the help of AirPods and motivating music, this old gal is embracing artists with names like Dua Lipa and Jelly Roll. While briskly walking on the treadmill with the music turned up, I can pretend to “Dance the Night Away” in a field of wildflowers. Hey, anything to make the treadmill less boring. Am I right?
As I put one foot in front of the other, my mind drifts. Sometimes I listen to the words in the song and other times all I hear is a rhythmic melody. The mind wanders …
Today is the tomorrow I worried about yesterday,
And today was such a lovely day,
That I wondered why I worried about today yesterday.
So, today I am not going to worry about tomorrow.
There may not be a tomorrow anyway.
So, today I am going to live as if there is no tomorrow,
And I am going to forget about yesterday.
The enlightenment shall continue!
For this week’s Lens-Artists photo Challenge #302, John asks us to share images of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Photography. I didn’t use A.I. to alter any of my own images but rather used the WordPress AI feature to generate complete photographs. I’ve played around with my own images with AI in the past with very mixed results. I find it time consuming and hit or miss. The iPhone photos are in response to John’s Cellpic Sunday photo challenge. Thus, this post includes my original cell phone photos along with artificially generated photographs. A.I. is definitely changing the world of photography. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but it’s here to stay so I might as well embrace it. A new reality!
I’m also adding a link to Terri’s Sunday Still’s photo challenge. Her prompt this week is the Great Outdoors, and my morning walks at the park certainly seem to fit the subject matter. Hope the weather in your neck of the woods is perfect for getting outside and enjoying nature.
Live Laugh RV 