Sitting on my garden swing, listening to tree frogs and crickets sing their nightly song, breathing in the cool evening air. Today is a welcome break from our normal hot and humid weather, so it’s doubly enjoyable.
I just returned from Harmonie State Park, where I rode my bike for two miles!! Not much, but it’s a start. I try to work in the requisite 10,000 steps every day. Well, four or five days a week, at least, and most days I get there. I also know that (according to the experts and those in the know!), you need to vary what you do so your body doesn’t become complacent and bored and stop burning those calories! Hence the bike rides. . .
I am blessed/lucky to live within twenty minutes of a great state park, sitting on the banks of the Wabash River. There are hiking trails, picnic tables, cabins, a campground, lots of trees, and many species of birds, insects, and wildife. Most often, I simply drive through the park, noting the changes in the trees during the various season. It’s quiet, save for the bugs and the birds and the frogs, but peaceful, even with the noise.
While riding my bike on this particular day (my first bike ride in several months, I must admit), I visited with rabbits and startled a mama raccoon and her baby (I only saw one, but they were at the edge of the woods and scurried away when I came too close). I also frightened a limping bobcat (see that spot in the photo??) who raced from the side of the road into the trees when he noticed me trailing along behind him – no limping when he took off. I spotted two deer in different locations as I was leaving the park, the first I have seen in quite some time.
Being in nature – whether in my garden or at the state park – recharges my heart and soul, readying me for the next step, the next thought, the next day. I find that I need to recharge, every single day. Sometimes just taking a deep breath helps, sometimes I escape to my garden, and sometimes I quietly sit in my car at one of the picnic sites in the park.
Find what recharges you, and go there often. Music and laughter, blessings and hugs. 
