Between the ears

“You can see what man made from the seat of an automobile, but the best way to see what God made is from the back of a horse”

In between not feeling so good this summer and again pretty crummy since last week, I had made the decision it was time to get fitter again after three years of doing nearly nothing. Well, the decision has been longer in development as such, but apparently it was time. Really really. Apart from the new problems, my back is killing me slowly, so I just have to find ways to make it stronger.

So I brushed off my boots, tack and the oldest brown pony (21) and got on. We had some absolutely beautiful, still, sunny days, perfect motivation to get started when you live in a wind tunnel.

He gets tired before I do (but recovers faster I think). We take it easy, it’s not another chore that I need right now but I realize the process could be a bit of a dip for me before it gets better. But it’s a nice feeling just sitting up there, odd, but so it is and always has been. I like walking as well, but the dog can only do very short trips and I haven’t managed to make myself do an extra round alone each day. My drive has been down to less than 20% of my normal and I’m not talking about physical energy, just the general, daily motivation alone. So outdoors is much part of the plan, rain or shine, even if I just sit in a garden chair wearing my polar overalls.

So anyway, I thought I’d bring you along for a short walk on the path I’ve had arranged around the perimeter of our property. The first couple of days Rollo (small brown pony) got the most exercise, galloping wildly all over the place and screaming his head off, but he’s getting back into the swing of “abandoned pony” aka hiding in the barn while his big friend is away. A shame, really, because he could use a bit of fitness as well!

Of course it was not sunny and calm today, but the idea of trying this was blocking all other activities somehow. I kept the sound on as to convey the wind tunnel concept, hoping Rollo would scream a bit because he does have such a funny voice. He didn’t much, but you can hear my snivel instead. I may try making some prettier versions once I’ve got the hang of it – I know I’d drop the phone if I tried using it, and the DSLR was getting pretty heavy at the end of those 10 minutes. A helmet cam might be fun!

Then later it was sunny and I forgot to bring my camera to the forest with Molly, so I had to try out the smartphone I’ve borrowed since my own croaked. Not very impressive, so you’ll have to take my word that it’s such a lovely view. (it just occurred to me that perhaps I can Instagram via wifi? Perhaps I could give that a whirl next time!)

I believe that’s the most I’ve done in a day for a while, apart from Monday when I carted firewood for an hour and then have been in a heap ever since, LOL.

16 thoughts on “Between the ears

  1. slow but sure is the way to go when starting your exercise.
    I love to walk in the morning and again in the afternoon with the dog but found myself in the same place you write about. the dog wears out too quickly and I don’t get much of a walk. it is hard to walk so slowly watching the dog sniff around so I carry my knitting along to keep me company. most days my knitting is in my hands as I walk the sts spring automatically off the needles and I don’t feel lonely with my knitting keeping me company. then sometime during the day I take a brisk walk on the treadmill so that I get the exercise I need. now I need to start adding some bending and twisting exercises into that to make my back and knees stronger and cut out the chocolate to lose weight. wouldn’t it be nice if threadling the spinning wheel and waving a crochet hook around would burn calories and make us fitter.

    1. That would be excellent. In fact I’ve managed to move my crosstrainer from the loom room, where it was in the way, into the bedroom facing my chest of drawers and I was planning on playing some of the weaving and spinning videos on my laptop while I plod away on nasty winter days.

    1. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed. It was rather more grand in my mind before the fact. Wideangle does tend to flatten everything, but I wasn’t able to zoom and show all I wanted without letting the reins go. And while he’s a nice, loyal pony, he moves out pretty fast if you let him!

    1. I once stopped for more than 10 years, afterwards I couldn’t understand why I’d ever left it behind (even when I broke my back 4 months in). And same now, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to give it up entirely, even if circumstances may hinder me from time to time.

  2. Wow, that is kinda freaky that we basically blogged about fitness at the same time! Your land is so beautiful, I can feel the peacefulness all the way over here! I’d love to exercise ‘out there’ more, but here it’s so difficult to find a place one feels safe in (to do alone, I mean). The photo does show a lovely view!! But I’m sure no where near the beauty of actually being there.

    1. I’d find it difficult to jog and work out in a city park, both for the safety and the ogling. And just the non-peacefulness of always hearing traffic. I really hope I can spend the rest of my days in quiet, rural surroundings. I don’t need coffee bars or sushi.

      1. And of course today it’s sunny and dead quiet, but big brown pony slipped on the wet grass this morning and had a bit of a sore leg, so better not push for a sequel right now!

  3. Hvorfor har jeg ikke en hest! Det ser vel nok ud som en skøn og afslappende måde at få rørt sig på. Jeg er sikker på at man bliver øm i 1.000 små muskler, hvis eksistens man ikke anede noget om. Frisk luft og fred er essentielle goder – endog bedre end sushi!

    1. Det er nemlig lige det, det er. Ved at lade den vuggende bevægelse blive absorberet i bækkenet, når man slapper af og lader kroppen følge bevægelsen, bliver hele lænden masseret og bevæget inde omkring rygsøjlen – der er virkelig en grund til at man bruger rideterapi til mange lidelser. Mestrer man det virkelig, så er overkroppen og, vigtigst, hænderne, helt stille, så man ikke generer hestens mund. Jeg kan også godt mærke at mine inderlårsdeller bliver modelleret lidt, LOL. Men det er skønt at komme i gang igen, og det glæder mig at jeg ikke helt havde tabt gnisten for det.

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