LIFE IN A FLYOVER STATE: Steps

Monday, August 11, 2014

Steps

Since I'm walking now because of my tyrannical (my perception only) Fitbit, I have more time to think and what I've noticed is that I am undoing years and years of training. I used to gather everything I needed to make one trip to the next place I'm going so I don't have to backtrack. For example, hanging out the clothes. I need: 1. clothes basket; 2. wet clothes; 3. bag of clothespins; 4. my bottle of water (if it's summer.)

Before Fitbit's tyranny (again, my perception only), I put the wet clothes, bag of clothespins, and my bottle of water (if it's summer), into the laundry basket, put the laundry basket in my little red wagon and made my way over to the clothesline which is a fair distance from our house. I am, if nothing else, an organized human being.

Now, to get more steps, I put the wet clothes into the empty laundry basket, carry the basket to the little red wagon and make my way over to the clothesline. Then I walk -- the long way -- back to the house to get the bag of clothespins and take them over to the clothesline, THEN I walk -- the long way -- back to the house to get my bottle of water (if it's summer) and walk back again to the clothesline to actually hang out the clothes. I'm not sure what I will do in the wintertime --- much quicker steps, I'm sure.

We humans be crazy, yes?? At least this human.

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We can see the beautiful Wichita Mountains from our front yard. People make fun of the fact that we call them mountains, but they are one of the oldest ranges in the United States. The Wichitas are just lying on their collective side. Frankly, I would be lying down also if I were over 500 million years old. Time wears us all down eventually. Even granite!

There’s a lake one mile to the west of us, but it is best viewed from a distance. It is still the ugliest lake I’ve ever seen and though I am fond of this area, my opinion about that lake has not changed over the years.

When we moved here 30 years ago, there were not the neighborhoods just to the south of us that there are now. Our neighbor to the north -- and that neighbor is one-half mile away -- runs cattle on her pasture. The pasture across the road from us is owned by the school district. That land is rented out for farming and grazing. Deer still surprise us and an occasional bobcat or coyote grabs a chicken from our coop. Our Suffolk sheep walk up to our dining room windows and peer in every once in awhile, baaing.

There is a military post on the other side of the Wichitas. If we go out at certain times of the day, we can see rockets streaking across the sky. Also, we will hear booming cannons firing on the practice ranges. It’s especially loud in the winter time when the humidity is low and troops are training on the east range. Once five Chinook helicopters hauling Army tanks flew low over our pasture. The post is the only fort built during the Indian Wars that is still active today. It was staked out on January 8, 1869. Its history is a rich one.

We can walk the same stretch of road everyday of every year and always see something different. We have to pay attention some days to see the changes, but we have the time.