As you can see, I crossed another Rubicon this week—26,000,000 steps. Once again, I wasn’t right on the money, so I ended up recording it when I was 39 steps over.

That’s a lot of steps, and it’s also a lot of miles. If the earth’s circumference is 24,901 miles, then 12,351 is spookily close to having made it halfway. Does that mean that part of the time I’m walking on water?

So what do I think about while I’m walking inside or out. I think about what I’m writing—planning the next scene or mentally rewriting one I’ve already done. Or I’m thinking about what’s going to be on tap in that week’s blog.

I no longer count steps as I walk—I count laps instead. A lap around the flat part of the front driveway is worth 265 steps. A lap around the pool on the back patio is worth 165.

Outside I’m able to watch the seasons change around me. The blooming wisteria pictured here is in the turn-around at the far end of the driveway. Out front this spring I’ve watched lenten roses, daffodils, narcissus, and tulips all come and go. Right now the rhododendrons are in full bloom which means the hydrangea can’t be far behind.

This spring we did some long neglected pruning out back and got rid of some dangerously leaning trees. That new bare spot has now been filled with new perennials along with the fifteen year-old bushes that were root bound and leggy in their outgrown pots. Those guys appear happy to be out of the pots and into the ground with plenty of room for them to grow. As for all those empty pots? They’ve been planted full of annuals which should give the patio loads of color this summer.

When I’m walking outside, I usually go down to the pond to feed and visit the fish. It turns out that the birds and bees don’t have anything on fish. It appears that the Big Guy and Big Orange have been doing the dirty behind our backs, because we now have a bunch of little all-black fish. The guy who cleaned the pond today told me that fish that are hybrids—half Koi and half Goldfish—start out black and develop orange coloring later.

Oh, and speaking of birds. Our bird feeding station is in the Japanese maples in the raised beds on the back patio. We serve up seeds and suet to our regular visitors made up of mostly little birds, with a solitary robin or blue jay showing up on occasion. We also have bags of fluff hanging in the trees that can be used for making nests.

Three days ago, while doing pool laps, I saw a baby bird parked on the pool deck. When I walked up to him, he barely moved. I took him over to a shady spot and put down some seeds where he could reach them. Then I made sure some drinkable water was close by. While I was doing so, I looked down and saw he was so close to my foot that I almost stepped on him.

The next day, the little guy who could barely hop the day before had grown enough feathers that he could flutter up into the raised beds. Today he was up on one of the hanging bird feeders. His flight pattern is still a little wonky, but unlike his compatriots, he doesn’t go zooming off whenever I pass by. I guess, as far as he’s concerned, I don’t pose a threat.

This morning I found another baby bird with the same markings out on the patio. He, too, didn’t make any effort to move out of my way. I figured he had been pushed out of the same nest as the first one. I did the same thing as far as seeds and water were concerned, but the poor little guy didn’t make it. In other words, win some and lose some.

So once again, thanks to all of you who have been with me on my walking journey. It’s been fun to be able to share it with you.