Did too much yesterday.

Yesterday started out great. Husband and I went for a walk/run in the park. We ended up going almost 3 miles total. My knee felt strong so I did all the 30 second sprints for the workout and the knee lifts. I felt so good and springy. The walking parts were fun too and I saw some cool things.

Pretty little butterfly

Giant mushroom I thought was a bagel.

It's missing a wing, but still has attitude.

I have no idea what kind of bird that is, but it was having a great time playing in the pond then fanning its wings dry.

It was great. Fast forward a few hours and my knee is burning and throbbing a bit. I tried stretching it out, but nothing helped. finally before bed I took some Advil to chill it out. I don't know why it hates outside so much, asphalt is softer than concrete covered with linoleum, but stupid knee doesn't hurt when I run back and forth in my house. Maybe it's because I wear shoes outside.

Anyway I've come up with a plan that will hopefully work. I'll keep going on the new missions inside on most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I'll start over on week one on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. That way I can still hear more of the story and stay engaged, but I'll be also building up outside strength more slowly. 

I've just been loving going outside and I'm not going to give it up, If I can only do 15 seconds at a stretch for another month I can live with that. I hate having to go slow now that I know I can run, I just have to make sure I don't make my knee worse by trying to go to much to soon.

Some Great Shots on My Walk Today

I got a couple of great shots on my walk today and one of the moon last night that I'm really proud of. I think I'm getting the hang of this! I only wish I could manually focus then it would be perfect.

A big ant was being attacked on my porch as I was leaving. I took some shots then rescued her on a leaf.

She was kicking but and had killed 3 so far.

I saw a doves nest in a tree.

I think this shot looks better.

A neat fern like plant.

My usuall flower shots are improving!

Short tree in an alley. I think it's a rogue olive. I want an olive tree but they're illegal to plant here and the pits from jars don't grow anyway.

I took some of the seeds so I can try to grow my own fuzzy ball plant.

You can see stars and the rest of the moon behind the glow!

Some Things I Saw On My Walk Today

I went for a walk in a neighborhood near my old salon. Three times a week I go and tidy up the building before the stylists come in for the day. Sometimes I miss it there, but the rent was more than we could afford and I get to live the dream of being a starving artist/writer! (Not actually starving, just happily scraping by.) 

We can afford what we need, and when I sell paintings or jewelry we can get a little extra. It's actually a great lesson in living within your means and going it frugally. The only bumps we've hit were poor Zelda (who's wounds have healed to 1/2 size now and the one under her tail is fully closed. Yay!), and yesterday's plumbing issue that my husband fixed quite easily with a rental snake. 

The walk was great and I had fun going around a different place. I can't wait to be able to ride my bike there, it's only 8 miles so hopefully in a month or so. I've been increasing mileage with the 10% rule. I think I could go farther, but I don't want to hurt myself.  I'm up to 5 miles on the path and it's driving me crazy. I really need to break out and take a turn off, I just might end up lost though. Maybe I need to get lost.

Anyway, here is a handful of shots from this mornings walk!

Beautiful purple and green prickly pear. That will make a great element in a painting.

I want a gate like this! I love fancy metal work and this is fancy!

Tentacle monster cactus. This gives me an idea for a story...

Dove on a roof, couldn't believe it held still for me. It flew off after I took a few shots of it. Must be getting better at sneaking.

I love the stripes in this rock. If it hadn't been bigger than my head I might have taken it home. I collect random rocks.

Azalea bushes are in full bloom. They smell good, but will make you very sick if you eat them. 

I Went For a Walk

Today I got up before the sun and because I still haven't found my bike lights I went for a walk. It was a bit chilly, but it felt good to stretch my legs. My knee hardly bothers me at all since I started riding and I was able to walk further than before.
I saw a lot of beautiful "weeds" growing that I had missed while riding and my stick was happy to get out of the house. I'll have to walk more to see what I've been missing. It was peaceful and very few people were out yet so I had the streets to myself.
I wonder how many people looked out there front windows and wondered about the woman taking pictures of the sidewalk. I probably stopped every ten or so steps. Here's my favorites from today's ramble.

The sun overslept.

Pretty yellow flowers right by the sidewalk.

The puff balls are very soft and it smells kind of like rain.

Taking a break at the bench. I'm glad the city put it in, it's a great place to pause.

I was tempted to dig this poppy up and take it home, but left it where I found it.

Someones daisies have escaped the yard!