In recognition of my 70th birthday, today’s post will be
about my morning routine. I never expected to live to be 70
before yesterday. Yesterday I was pretty sure I would make it to today!
In fact when I was younger I never expected to make it to 30.
Surprise! I should have known better. Three of my four grandparents
lived to be at least 92 and my father made it to his 90s too. So
here I am. One hears many stories about people working until
retirement then dying soon after. Looks like I won’t be one of
those stories! Until Covid-19 hit, I was swimming 1500 – 2000
meters a day five days a week. When the virus hit and lockdowns and
quarantining became the new normal my pool was closed. I have hopes
it will reopen next week, but in the meantime, I have been doing
brisk walking in the village; three days of walking then one day off.
It’s not the same but it is far better than nothing. We are in
the transition between hot season and hot and wet season. For that
reason, I get up around 5:30 to begin my day to avoid at least some
of the heat. Still, when I get home, I feel like I just got out of a
hot tub. Even at 5:30, it is hot and humid.
My day starts with
letting the dogs out to ‘water and fertilize’ the garden. Next,
I make the coffee so it is ready when I come back. Pum gets to sleep
in a bit if the dogs let her while I start my walk. I put my trusty
adidas shoes on and adjust my face mask and get going.
The first thing I do is pick up my anti-fierce dog stick. Notice the
three prongs, fierce, eh?
Down the driveway to our street.
Turn left and you can't quite see the end of the road, but my destination is the end of the road.
The first house I pass is, of course the home of our next door neighbors and close family
Two more houses before the corner
At the corner, and you can see the monks from our temple on their alms walk through our village
Friendly dogs I see every day
The next several shots are simply homes and stores I see every morning
Another friendly canine
More homes
This is the entrance to the local school where Pum attended elementary school and where the neighborhood kids go
The first two times I did the walk, I stopped here. After that I added the next part. I do this complete roundtrip walk three times per day.
This is the home of one of Pum's aunts. She and her daughter-in-law grow mushrooms for sale.
You can see the tents where the mushrooms are grown. I often see the aunt and/or the daughter-in-law on my walks.
They save the water in a pond behind the tents. Surprising that even with the current water problems that their pond is still pretty full.
From here the rest of the walk is along the wall of the school on one side and land owned by some people with cows on the other.
Simple wire to keep the cows from wandering.
The end of the street. Sometimes there are unfriendly dogs at the corner, a good reason for my three pronged protective device.
Then I turn and begin the walk back to our house. I see many of the same things but from a different side.
When school is in session, every day after school many vendors sell snacks here to the students as they are leaving school grounds.
And home again - 'back on the block'. This house is across the street from us
The houses two doors down.
Then it is time to turn around and do it again! When I get back, it's coffee time! I grab my cuppa and hunker down in front of the fan to cool off! I get some internet time, feed the dogs then play with the younger one before showering and getting on with the rest of the day.
I wish I could take the dogs with me, but there are too many other dogs loose. I hope you enjoyed my walk!
