Tag: walking

Seven Things Christine Noticed On Her Sunday Walk
dogs · fitness · walking · winter

Seven Things Christine Noticed On Her Sunday Walk

Christine Hennebury

I left my hatphones at home yesterday because I wanted to have a quiet walk instead of my usual podcast/book listening time.

And besides it just felt like a good day for noticing stuff so I decided to lean into that.

I’m not making this into a lesson in mindfulness or anything but as I was walking, I found it fun to make a list of seven things I noticed as I went along.

And maybe it’s related, maybe it’s a coincidence, but yesterday’s walk did feel more like ‘taking a breather’ than other recent walks have felt.

1) What are my feet doing?

Even though I have been consciously working on it, I realized that I was walking more on the inside edge of my foot today.

So, having noticed, I gave a little thought to walking on the ‘four corners’ of my feet like the YouTube yoga instructors say.

My legs enjoyed the change.

2) How am I breathing?

The ‘four corners’ prompt made me think about my breathing – I’m slowly working on breathing into the sides of my ribs as well as the front and back.

I think someone I follow on Instagram refers to that as ‘breathing on four sides’ but there’s a decent chance I extrapolated that description from something else they said. My brain likes making those kind of leaps.

So, having noticed my breathing, I kept checking in with myself throughout my walk. I wasn’t doing it continuously but it felt good to return to it over and over.

3) Do we have time to stop for a pat or two?

Usually, Khalee and I take the business of walking VERY seriously.

A dog on a leash stands on a sidewalk next to some snow
Khalee is deciding what to sniff next. Image description: Khalee, a medium-sized dog with light brown fur on top and white fur on her paws, belly, ruff and snout, is standing next to some gritty looking snow on a sidewalk. Her body is pointed away from the camera but she is facing a little to the right.

That doesn’t mean we take ourselves too seriously overall but it does mean that walks are about her getting to sniff everything. Walks are not about exercise, they are not about stopping to chat, they are about Khalee’s sniff opportunities and we only stop for her to, ahem, answer calls of nature.

Yesterday though, because I was really in a noticing frame of mind, and because it was warm enough that I didn’t need to wear gloves, I got Khalee to stop so I could pat her head and scratch behind her ears.

Shockingly, she is as soft and furry and great mid-walk as she is when she is curled up next to me at home. And she was very tolerant of my compliments even though she had to pause her sniff-mission in order to receive them.

4) No gloves and borrowed clothes

I love being able to go for a walk without having to put on gloves or snowpants. I did still wear a hat though…my husband’s hat, in fact. And this is his spare jacket, too. It was a borrow-stuff-from-Steve kind of day, apparently.

A selfie of a middle-aged woman in an orange coat and blue winter hat
Guess who left her glasses on the counter? Yep, it was me! I brought my smirk though. Image description: a selfie I took on the sidewalk not too far from my house. It’s a grey day and there is snow behind me next to the sidewalk. I am wearing a blue winter hat that says ‘Fastsigns. More than fast. More than signs.’ on the folded edge, and I am wearing a dark orange jacket with a hood. I’m a middle-aged white woman with a round face, I’m smirking in the photo but it’s a friendly sort of smirk.

5) Decorations are cheery, even out of season

Lots of people still have Xmas decorations up in their trees, on their lawns, and on their railings and I’m happy about it even though they are technically out of season. I’m sure there are lots of reasons they have been left up but today I decided they were left up for me to enjoy and I felt grateful about it.

I also felt grateful for the few houses that have hearts decorating their windows and I decided that I’ll going to put some heart decorations up in my window too. Even though I live on a cul-de-sac and few people go walking past my house, maybe they will cheer someone up.

6) A lot of people in my neighbourhood have wood stoves or outdoor fire pits

My walk was regularly punctuated by the welcoming smell of wood fires.

Every time I smelled a new one, I sent the people a little wish for good company, good comfort, and good snacks around that fire.

Maybe that’s a weird thing to do but that’s exactly the kind of thing that I do all the time. Probably best to get used to it.

7) I delight in unexpected greenery

Apparently one of the houses on my route – a house I have passed almost daily since last June – has ivy on the side of it.

Okay, it may not be ivy, I’m not up on these things, but the the fact remains that there is a house on my walk that has greenery covering a side wall and I have never noticed before.

I could only snap a quick photo because of the aforementioned sniffing business (the sniffing needs to get done and I do NOT want that task to fall to me!) but look at that wall of greenery! Isn’t that marvellous?

A side wall of a house covered in greenery
You’ll probably have to zoom in to see clearly, this is a quick iPhone shot. Image description: a photo taken across the street shows a wall of a brick house that is covered in greenery (ivy maybe?) The house is only partially visible behind a snowbank and the photo was taken at an angle that minimizes the possibility for recognizing the location.

I don’t know why I haven’t noticed (or maybe I noticed and forgot?) There’s a dog near this spot that is sometimes off-leash and Khalee gets a little ansty about that. And there’s often someone out front in another house nearby and I often say hi to them. And I guess this spot is shaded by trees in the summer. Could be lots of reasons I haven’t noticed before but I was happy to notice today.

(Also, why is still so green? Is this a vine-based evergreen? Clearly, there is more to discover here!)

ANYWAY!

The long and the short of it was that Sunday’s walk was especially good and I enjoyed myself immensely.

Khalee says that the slightly warmer weather meant that she had some especially good sniffs.

We thought you’d want to know. 😉

A dog sniffing the snow-covered ground
For some reason that part of the snow required extra sniffing. Let’s not speculate as to why. Image description: a side view of Khalee’s shoulders, head, and front paws. She’s a medium-sized dog with light-brown and white fur and she is leaning her head forward so she can sniff the snow-covered ground intently.

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It’s #FrostBike Season – at Last!

Diane Harper1 Comment

I started biking year-round in Ottawa last year and fell in love with cycling in a whole new way. I have previously written about it here.

Since then, I did acquire those pogies, coloured lights for my wheels, and a new ski jacket and snow pants which have really helped on the coldest days. I have even been experimenting with ski goggles and a ski helmet for greater warmth.

A bicycle parked in a snowy yard. You can’t see much except orange and green lights on the wheels, white fairy lights along the frame, a red rear light and a white front light that highlights the front basket.

What is less joyful is my actual route to work. Like much of Ottawa’s cycling network, it disappears under mounds of snow and ice pushed off the roads and stored in bike lanes. The same is true of our city’s sidewalks, despite promises to prioritize the people most vulnerable to injury in winter: the elderly, those with disabilities, the people pushing strollers, and the folks who rely on transit, whether by choice or because they can’t afford a car (often single parents, indigenous, people of colour and new immigrants).

In that sense, I’m relatively privileged. I have the flexibility to avoid traveling during peak rush hours, and I am able-bodied and fearless enough to ride a bicycle in traffic, so get to take advantage of the streets that are bare and dry, rather than struggling on icy sidewalks and clambering over windrows left when street ploughs fill in what the sidewalk ploughs just cleared.

If we are serious about addressing climate change, reducing pollution, access to jobs, improving our physical and mental health, and reducing injuries and deaths caused by collisions, we need more access to separated bike lanes. A large study of European cities showed huge increases in bike use when cycling lanes were added.

Sure, we’re not Europe, but take a look at what Montreal has done. The city has been making major investments in bike lanes, and prioritizing them for snow clearance in winter. The result has been massive growth in winter cycling by all sorts of people.

I talk mostly about bike lanes, but pedestrians benefit from many of the things cyclists want – narrower streets, raised crosswalks, safer intersections, improved and accessible public transit, cleared routes, more green spaces and places to rest, have a drink, and enjoy being outdoors.

I can’t fix all those things on my own, but I have discovered a host of allies from Halifax to Victoria, San Diego to Utrecht, who are all working to make cycling and walking safer in their communities. And I have been encouraging colleagues to give cycling a try, at least some of the time – every ride that replaces a car trip helps the environment. There is strength in numbers too, as we are more visible so drivers tend to be more aware.

A mid-January start to #FrostBike season is very late for Ottawa, but maybe – just maybe – my choice of transportation mode will help turn the tide towards cooler temperatures and longer seasons in future, and help make my city a more equitable place to live.

Diane kitted out in a colourful snow jacket, wearing a bike helmet and blue ski goggles. Only her serious mouth and a bit of her nose are visible.

Now I’m feeling less grumpy than when I first drafted this post. It was -23C with the wind chill, and the ski helmet adds considerably to my warmth. It was a great ride especially compared to the snowy conditions going home last night. But honestly? Even a tough ride is better than no ride at all.

Person in a colourful jacket, grey ski helmet, goggles and a black cloth over her face so only her nose is exposed. You can’t see it, but she is smiling.
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Urbanism and Active Transit

Diane Harper1 Comment

Last year I started volunteering with Bike Ottawa, a group that advocates for better cycling infrastructure to keep the increasing number of people on bikes safe.

It turns out that when you start thinking about what makes people on bicycles safe, you quickly start thinking about how similar changes can make the lives of pedestrians safer. And that leads to how we design our streets to make them more accessible for people with mobility issues (and other disabilities). and then how all those things connect with public transit (or more to the point, how much better public transit needs to be both in terms of service and in terms of connectivity to bike paths and sidewalks, and providing benches and shade for people waiting).

I have been connecting with all sorts of people who know lots about these issues, and it has been a great year of learning – about how to get around my city more effectively, how much I am capable of on foot or by bike, and how to spot and (occasionally) fix problems. I am now a master of Guerilla construction signage adjustments to clear sidewalks and bike paths.

That culminated this weekend with a lovely walk around anOttawa neighbourhood that has been in the news a lot this year because of big, sometimes expensive, questions about how to use some public spaces.

I biked there, met up with other people I know from various cycling groups plus the guy who now leads an urbanist book club and some complete strangers. We were led on our walk by a woman who walks everywhere – an average of 120 km per week.

We talked about the environment, smart density, desire lines, the importance of consultations with users to ensure designs work (hello Flora Street pedestrian bridge with your incredibly sharp turns and unploughed stairs in winter).

Flora Street Bridge in Ottawa, showing the ramp on left, with cyclists and pedestrians, and stairs on right, with people climbing them or walking by. Image on left is from canadianconsultingengineer.com and the one on the right by Scott Norsworthy.

It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, and it reinforced my view from earlier this year that infrastructure is a feminist issue.

We are already planning our next walk, ideally to a suburban area to look at the challenges for people who want to get around without a car.

Until then, we will be dreaming of active transportation and urban spaces that look more like this:

Clockwise from top left: Alexandra Bridge in Ottawa, with many pedestrians; a bike lane that goes right through a mall in Singapore; a bike lane in England being used by someone in a wheelchair. She is protected only by flexiposts as large vehicles drive by; the very busy pedestrianized Rue Mont Royal in Montreal.
dogs · fitness · trackers · walking

Solo Stroll (don’t tell Khalee)

Christine Hennebury

Every month my wrist-spy* suggests a fitness challenge and I usually try it just to add a little extra oomph to my routines.

I have only been following it closely for a few months but since it has led to me moving a lot more each day (and feeling great about it!) I figure it’s worth the effort to pay attention to the challenges and to my responses.

This month, the challenge is to walk 5.4km per day for 14 days during September.

And since I am much better at doing something every day than every second day, I decided that I would aim for 14 days in a row and if I liked walking that much per day, I would continue for the rest of the month.

So far, I have met the challenge every day but some days have been quite tricky.

I get a lot of movement in my days but it’s a mix of walking and yoga and stretching and taekwondo and strength training and so on.

This challenge is just about walking. So walking around my house or running errands will count toward the 5.4km but other forms of exercise won’t.

(That other movement is good for me overall, of course, but it doesn’t meet the requirements of the challenge.)

I’ve tried getting Khalee to walk a bit further each day so I can get closer to the target distance but sometimes she just won’t. In fact, on Friday evening we walked for less than 1km because she decided she was done with being outdoors and it was time to get home out of it.

A light haired dog lies on a patio, facing toward the camera.
This photo has nothing to do with yesterday’s walk but her expression looks a bit skeptical, kind of like the way she was looking at me when ai returned. Image description: a photo of Khalee, my light-haired, medium-sized dog, resting on my patio near some pots of flowers. She is facing toward the camera and her expression looks similar to the way a human would narrow their eyes at you in suspicion. There’s green grass and a backyard firepit in the background of the photo

I’ve thought about trying to take her out for a walk twice a day but any time I’ve tried, she’s not so keen on it. (I swear, she looks like she is thinking, ‘Didn’t we do this already?’)

So, I’ve ended up walking a fair distance INSIDE my house just to meet the challenge. Indoor walking is boring AND I walk slower than I do outside – apparently I really need the forward movement to gain any momentum.

Ok, so I know what you’re thinking – Why don’t you walk WITHOUT the dog, Christine?

Good question.

And the answer is – I never thought of it.

Most of the time, I walk for three reasons – to walk the dog, to hang out with friends, or to get somewhere.

And all of those walks are good for me but I had kind of filed away the fact that I could walk for the sake of walking/exercise.

I mean, I guess I *do* still do that but I generally combine it with Khalee’s daily walk so I had stopped thinking of it as something I could do separately.

Until I was running an errand on Monday morning and I saw someone strolling along the sidewalk without the benefit of a dog to show them where all the good smells are and it struck me, “OHHHH! I could do my extra walking OUTSIDE instead.”

Yes, I feel a bit foolish about missing the obvious there but you know how it is when you get into a thinking habit, right? You need something to prompt you to reframe your thoughts.

ANYWAY, right after lunch on Monday, I took a quick stroll – it was a lot easier to get out the door without having to get Khalee into her harness and all. It was good to get a little extra walking in, at my own speed, without worrying if Herself was going to get enough exercise or if I was going too fast or too slow for her in the moment.

I love walking with Khalee but walking a dog is a whole different project than walking alone. It’s a different kind of good.

I mean, I had to rely on my own nose to figure out where the good smells were but that was a small price to pay for a quick walk.

Meanwhile, I think Khalee was suspicious and I am pretty sure she gave me a dirty look when I returned.

For the record, I did take her for her own walk a bit later in the day.

And it was quite easy to get my walking distance done.

*You may know it as an Apple watch but thanks to a clever friend it will always be a wrist-spy to me.

Just For Fun with Christine and Khalee
fitness · fun · self care · walking

Just For Fun with Christine and Khalee

Christine Hennebury2 Comments

I’m in the middle of writing several think-y posts but none of them are quite done yet so, instead I offer this:

While I care deeply about all kinds of important issues, on a day-to-day casual basis, I am known for being strongly in favour of three key things:

I am pro-snack.

I am pro-nap.

And I am pro-fun.

These photos from two recent walks with Khalee fall in the latter category.

Go Team Fun!

A sunset photo of branches of a tree with shadows of a person and a dog. A gap in the tree branches creates the illusion of a short monster behind the dog.
Here we are as shadow creatures. No, nothing is lurking behind Khalee, that’s just a gap in the trees below that looks like a monster with outstretched arms. Image description: a photo of mine and Khalee’s shadows taken as the sun is setting. We’re standing on a sidewalk that is higher than the path below and our shadows are falling onto some trees next to the path. Our shadows are clearing outlined and behind Khalee’s shadow is a gap in the branches that looks like a very short monster with its arms sticking out to either side.
A nighttime photo of a person’s shadow next to a dog on a leash who is also casting a shadow onto the sidewalk ahead.
And here we are as creatures of the night. For the record, we are not actually vampires, it was just too warm to walk her during the day. Image description: a nighttime photo of my shadow, Khalee, and her shadow being cast on the sidewalk ahead of us by a streetlight behind us.
My Own Mini-Triathlon
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My Own Mini-Triathlon

Diane Harper

On Saturday, I participated in a couple of activities that fall close to the category of Elan’s Silly summer fun. But they also supported causes dear to my heart.

Swim: the day started with a 3.2 km swim as a swim angel for my friend Sarah from my master’s swim club at Bring on the Bay, an annual swim in the Ottawa River that raises funds for Easter Seals. This year, there were 651 swimmers. Swim angels are “buddies” for swimmers with anxiety, disabilities, or medical issues who want someone with them in case they need support.

This year about 20 of us were paired with a swimmer. A few more people act as “sweeps” available in case someone swimming alone needs assistance. It’s a great program and I benefitted from it years ago when I was anxious about cramping up following foot surgery.

Me in a white cap, multicoloured goggles and a swimsuit, with Sarah, who is wearing a red cap, black goggles and a wetsuit.
Swimmers heading out into the river with their angels. Two of the sailboats, a kayak and SUP that mark the route and provide support are in the background. Sara and I are in the front of the group, on the left, closest to the green channel marker.

Sarah did great! She is actually a bit faster than me, but this was only her second open water swim and she had never swum this distance. She’s a musician, so my job was to be her metronome. I set the pace and she drafted behind me until we got close to the end. Then she moved up beside me so we could finish together. I was a good metronome: we finished within 3 minutes of the time I had predicted.

Bike: this was pretty straightforward as I biked to and from Bluesfest, a 10-day long series of concerts in Ottawa. Even though I have lived here for nearly 40 years and have been a commuter cyclist for 20, I’m still learning new ways to get around. My friend Florence showed me a couple of changes to the route I would have taken, which minimized car contact. 12 km done and dusted.

Run: technically walk, but 9.6 km worth of walk according to my phone app. This was the silly fun part. I’m a member of Bike Ottawa, a group that advocates for safe infrastructure for all people who bike. Every year at Bluesfest, volunteers run a free bike parking service to encourage people to bike to the venue rather than driving a car. This year, they parked their 100,000th bike. Any donations received are split between Bike Ottawa and Blues in the Schools.

The volunteers were a mixed group from teens through to seniors. The supervisors were dressed up in all sorts of bling for visibility. It works just like a car valet service, except we weren’t allowed to ride the bikes. We did get to admire some beauties though.

This was an incredibly smooth operation, but there was a LOT of wheeling bikes to their designated spots and retrieving them for their owners at the end of the night. We cleared out roughly 800 bikes, scooters and skateboards in about half an hour after the last concert ended.

A field filled with orange construction horseshoes, with hundreds of bike leaning up against them. A few volunteers in blue shirts are walking more bikes to their designated spot.

At their base, none of these activities was really silly, though I thought they were a lot of fun. So, because I can’t figure out any other excuse to share, here is a photo of my friend Gwendolyn and I, just after winning the teacup obstacle race at a friend’s 40th birthday party. The race involved running around a tree and then shooting a croquet ball through a hoop while holding a teacup full of water. Then you were blindfolded and turned around five times before being guided by your partner to pour your water into a container. The winning team was the one with the most water after each person had gone through the course.

Two white women, wearing flowered dresses and hats are standing in a trees park. One is blindfolded and holding a croquet mallet and ball. The other holds a teacup.

fitness · mindfulness · walking

Walking Quiet, Walking Loud

Christine Hennebury

I usually like to listen to podcasts or audiobooks* to add some extra fun when I take Khalee for a walk. On challenging days, when my walk would be filled with unhelpful rumination, focusing on a different narrative is really helpful.

However, me being me, I end up overthinking everything, including the fact that I listen to stuff while I walk.

Would it be better to walk quietly and just observe?

Should I make an effort to do walking meditations more often?

Would walking mindfully serve the same brain-clearing purpose as immersing myself in a narrative does?

A top down photo of a dog next to a bush with large pink flowers on it.
Khalee doesn’t listen to podcasts while she walks and she also doesn’t worry about whether it’s the right thing to do.

image description: A fairly close-up, top-down photo of Khalee, my light-haired dog, walking on some grass right past a large pink flower on a short bush. She is facing to the right and her head and shoulders are in the frame. The bush with the link flowers is to her left at the top of the image.

I didn’t know the answer to these questions so I’ve been choosing to walk without my headphones**every so often lately, just to see how I feel about it.

It turns out that I like it…as an occasional thing.

It’s good to take a break from my usual routine and I enjoy choosing to let my mind wander as I walk.

And it was interesting to realize that while I’m obviously more mindful while walking without headphones, it turns out that I am generally pretty observant on all my walks.

Even with my headphones on, I notice changes in my neighbourhood. I see different flowers and trees growing. I stop to take pictures.

A bunch of white daisies growing in some grass.
For example, I had to stop and get a photo of these happy daisies when I saw them recently. Image description: at least a dozen daisies growing tall amidst some grass. The daisies have white petals and yellow middles.

That’s not the behaviour of someone who is zoned out or too caught up in her entertainment to notice the world around her.

Waking loud (i.e. with headphones) or walking quiet (i.e. without headphones) turns out to be one of those situations where I can have it both ways.

Either type of walk is enjoyable and they both do me some good.

So I guess I’ll just play it by ear (ha!) from now on.

PS – What do you do when you’re walking? Are your headphones on or off?

*I have been having a great time listening to Ghostly Thistle’s fiction podcast The Antique Shop lately and I recently enjoyed Kate Racculia’s book Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts narrated by Lauren Fortgang.

**Well, headphone, singular, I don’t use two headphones while walking so I can stay aware of my surroundings. I only use two when I am wearing my hatphones – they don’t block out noise the way my regular headphones do.

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Here’s My Happy Place – Where’s Yours?

amandalynnstubley2 Comments
Photo of sign that says Port Bruce
Port Bruce is actually a small Provincial Park too – pretty much just a beach

Do you have a favourite place to walk? I am writing this just after returning from what I think is my favourite locale for walking – Port Bruce, Ontario. I’m not sure why but I just feel like I have more energy when I’m there. The world feels both bigger AND smaller. My special place is a small harbour town, a village, really, on the shore of Lake Erie.

photo of a pebbly beach shore with small waves and a grey sky


Of all the Great Lakes, Lake Erie is probably the least glamorous. It is shallow. It is notoriously choppy and has at times been desperately polluted. For swimmers like me, summer swimming can be unappealing – the waves stir up sediment and it’s muddy. Sometimes it’s treacherous. The lake is so shallow that waves develop in a very chaotic way and it can make swimming and boating unpredictable at best.

The lakes inspire strong feelings, and in my Southwest Ontario city, there is a big divide: folks seem to be either Lake Huron people or Lake Erie people. Depending on what side of that divide you fall on, you may totally dismiss any lake Erie locale. Folks sometimes call it a mud puddle.

That was me, until we discovered a small cabin about 150 metres from the shore in Port Bruce. We came in the “off” season for a week and there were huge lake storms. I walked up and down the beach and through the streets. I was kind of hooked on this place.

close up photo of beach pebbles with a single piece of wet green beach glass
Port Bruce’s beach is beloved for finding beach glass!

It’s nondescript in some ways. A few older cottages. Some newer ones and the odd giant mega cottage. There’s a sizeable trailer court for summer visitors, and there’s a marina on Catfish Creek, whose muddy water flows from corn fields to the north.

Port Bruce as a town lacks hubris, and that suits me fine. You hear a chain saw or a power tool most days and it reminds me of life in the logging town I grew up in.

photo of woman smiling at camera while standing on beach.

Somehow, all of that makes me feel like walking. Really. It’s odd, even to me. But the lack of affect of this place makes me feel more comfortable and I just walk and walk. Up the beach. Down. Through the little streets. Even the steep (for Ontario!) hills don’t bug me. 

The past week was pretty glorious – I worked, I walked, I swam. It got me wondering if anyone else has a special spot. I’d love to hear about it, and what makes it so great.

Spring(ish) Walks for Christine and Khalee
dogs · fitness · season transitions · walking · winter

Spring(ish) Walks for Christine and Khalee

Christine Hennebury

You may not have realized it but Thursday, March 30 was a big day.

What was so big about it?

It was the first day since last Fall that I could wear sneakers on my daily walk with Khalee.

A top down view of my legs in black leggings and my feet in pink sneakers standing on the road.
Photo evidence! Well, evidence is a strong work, it probably wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. It’s just a photo of my sneakers feet on the pavement, it doesn’t prove that I haven’t worn my sneakers on a walk in months but please cut me some slack here, Your Honour. Image description: a top down photo of my pink sneakers and black leggings as I stand on the salt-speckled asphalt street. The sun is behind me to the right so legs are caring a shadow toward the upper left of the image. The angle of the sun is creating one big shadow out of both of legs so, shadow-wise, it looks like I was hopping on my one giant leg.

And it was one of the first days I could just wear regular pants on my walk instead of adding an extra layer.

It still isn’t *warm* here, only a few degrees below zero but those few degrees make a huge difference for me.

Being able to just throw on a jacket (hat and gloves, too, of course) and put on my sneakers feels way smoother and quicker than adding another pair of pants and lacing up my boots.

It reduces the friction for getting out through the door, it feels like I could drop everything and head out at any time.

(I can always do that, of course, but now it actually *feels* that way, too.)

It just feels EASIER to get out there.

And Khalee is much less impatient with me in the porch. She simply cannot believe how long it takes me to get ready sometimes. (Humans are very weird, apparently.)

A light haired medium sized dog stands on a road looking back toward the camera. There are snowbanks in the background.
Speaking of me being weird, Khalee also can’t believe that I would waste valuable snow-sniffing time by stopping to take her picture. Image description: a n outdoor photo of Khalee, a light-haired, medium-sized dog, is on a neon yellow leash and black/aqua harness. She is standing on the side of the road with snowbanks to her right and she is looking back toward the camera. My shadow, the shadow of the leash and the dog-walking paraphernalia can be seen on the left side of the photo.

So, it’s still cold.

We still have lots of snow.

A selfie of a woman with a large snowbank behind her
This isn’t my house in the background and not every lawn has this much snow right now but still, there’s a lot of snow around. Image description: a smirky selfie with a snowbank so high that only the peaked roof of the house is visible behind the snow. I am wearing a green winter hat, my oversized cats-eye glasses, and a green coat. My light brown hair is sticking out from under my hat to rest on my shoulder.

But I am feeling Springish because the sun has been out a lot lately and I can wear my sneakers on my walks.

Sure, it’s not green grass, crocuses, and birdsong but life is easier when I adjust my expectations to my reality, right?

An outdoor selfie of a woman and a dog, the dog is sniffing the woman’s face.
Soon, soon, Khalee and I will be able to sit on these front steps enjoying a cup of tea…ok, I’ll be the only one with tea but we’ll both be out there. Image description: a selfie of me and Khalee on my front steps with part of my house and my door in the background. The sun is shining on us and I’m squinting and smiling as she sniffs my face.

Spring(ish) Walks for Christine and Khalee
dogs · fitness · season transitions · walking · winter

Spring(ish) Walks for Christine and Khalee

Christine Hennebury

You may not have realized it but Thursday, March 30 was a big day.

What was so big about it?

It was the first day since last Fall that I could wear sneakers on my daily walk with Khalee.

A top down view of my legs in black leggings and my feet in pink sneakers standing on the road.
Photo evidence! Well, evidence is a strong work, it probably wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. It’s just a photo of my sneakers feet on the pavement, it doesn’t prove that I haven’t worn my sneakers on a walk in months but please cut me some slack here, Your Honour. Image description: a top down photo of my pink sneakers and black leggings as I stand on the salt-speckled asphalt street. The sun is behind me to the right so legs are caring a shadow toward the upper left of the image. The angle of the sun is creating one big shadow out of both of legs so, shadow-wise, it looks like I was hopping on my one giant leg.

And it was one of the first days I could just wear regular pants on my walk instead of adding an extra layer.

It still isn’t *warm* here, only a few degrees below zero but those few degrees make a huge difference for me.

Being able to just throw on a jacket (hat and gloves, too, of course) and put on my sneakers feels way smoother and quicker than adding another pair of pants and lacing up my boots.

It reduces the friction for getting out through the door, it feels like I could drop everything and head out at any time.

(I can always do that, of course, but now it actually *feels* that way, too.)

It just feels EASIER to get out there.

And Khalee is much less impatient with me in the porch. She simply cannot believe how long it takes me to get ready sometimes. (Humans are very weird, apparently.)

A light haired medium sized dog stands on a road looking back toward the camera. There are snowbanks in the background.
Speaking of me being weird, Khalee also can’t believe that I would waste valuable snow-sniffing time by stopping to take her picture. Image description: a n outdoor photo of Khalee, a light-haired, medium-sized dog, is on a neon yellow leash and black/aqua harness. She is standing on the side of the road with snowbanks to her right and she is looking back toward the camera. My shadow, the shadow of the leash and the dog-walking paraphernalia can be seen on the left side of the photo.

So, it’s still cold.

We still have lots of snow.

A selfie of a woman with a large snowbank behind her
This isn’t my house in the background and not every lawn has this much snow right now but still, there’s a lot of snow around. Image description: a smirky selfie with a snowbank so high that only the peaked roof of the house is visible behind the snow. I am wearing a green winter hat, my oversized cats-eye glasses, and a green coat. My light brown hair is sticking out from under my hat to rest on my shoulder.

But I am feeling Springish because the sun has been out a lot lately and I can wear my sneakers on my walks.

Sure, it’s not green grass, crocuses, and birdsong but life is easier when I adjust my expectations to my reality, right?

An outdoor selfie of a woman and a dog, the dog is sniffing the woman’s face.
Soon, soon, Khalee and I will be able to sit on these front steps enjoying a cup of tea…ok, I’ll be the only one with tea but we’ll both be out there. Image description: a selfie of me and Khalee on my front steps with part of my house and my door in the background. The sun is shining on us and I’m squinting and smiling as she sniffs my face.