Turtles Turtles Rah Rah Rah

Turtles and cows! Both new occupants of our property. The cows moved in yesterday – it was nice to see their white patched hides as they are surely a sign of summer.

Yesterday I noticed a few lumps on a rock in the pond. Closer examination (actually not that close at all) showed that there were three turtles. The biggest one is covered with a green algae, the medium is brown and the smallest one was perched on top of the medium one. Strange cause he looked like a different kind. Perhaps the fellowship of the turtles. Between the turtles, the heron, and the kingfisher, I imagine the goldfish population of our pond is going to be drastically reduced.

The path that I take for my walk is quickly growing over. I think that if I miss a few days I won’t be able to find it anymore. What will happen when we are gone camping?

Other happenings: the robins near the kitchen window have fledged. This morning we saw the last one to leave the nest wobbling on the drain spout, and when we returned it was gone. The robins near the treadmill window are sitting tightly on eggs. She almost disappears she sits so tight. Birds everywhere are busy building nests, or feeding babies – the yard is hub of avian activity!

Dorothy commented the other day about the treadmill. She thought it was a big machine and it is, once it is in its place I really don’t want to move it. I love it though… I can decide to do 30 minutes (which is my minimum) but then if I feel good I can increase the time without ended up far from home. I can increase the intensity and know just how much I’m challenging myself. Having time, distance and calories on the display gives me something to work for. I’ve found out that I’m pretty competitive! Every day I want to do a bit better, and push myself a bit more. This has increased my fitness tons! When I started 6 weeks ago, I could barely make 30 minutes, with 0 incline and about 3.5 mph. Yesterday I did 80 minutes, mostly at a 4% incline and and average of 4.0 mph. That’s a big difference! And I didn’t end up too far from home and exhausted.

It's easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top.
Henry Ward Beecher