Motivation

Sunday was cold and windy. I had so much to get done in the morning which included electric fence repairs. 

My Grand Plan was to head out early to the Reserve and see if I could spot red wing black birds and maybe check out the ponds to see if any geese or swans had arrived.

All that went ka-put. After lunch I had to call my elder friend in Alabama. She was having a bad day so we talked for an hour. She is in her mid 80's and was telling me that she had not gone out to do anything in weeks. She forgets to eat, she is isolated she says, and depressed. She used to be a librarian, so I asked her where the nearest library was. Her answer was 3 blocks. I asked her if she'd go to the library and just go find a book and sit at a table and read. 
Why? She asked me. I told her...so she could be around other humans. 

I asked her to visit her meal site once this week and text me what she had to eat. I gave her two assignments or as I called them: Challenges for Motivation. 

I had to agree to let her set a Challenge for me too. She wanted me to send her a photo of me in Mobility Class. 

So today I was at CF and did Mobility Class afterwards. My coach Angie took these photos for me.
Mobility Class:

Shoulder Rotations

After class. 

One of my little pals, 
coach's daughter.

Am I going to be successful in helping someone a long distance away get Motivated? I sure don't know, but I like my Alabama friend. It is unfortunate that she has no immediate relatives to help her look out for herself. She is also fiercely independent so it is hard for her to ask for help.

This is the woman who was Captain of an Oil Rig in the Gulf when she was in her 30's. Mind you, that was over 50 years ago!

So. After my motivational talk. I packed my camera bag and headed out the door in the late afternoon to get myself moving.

I knocked off another section of the KVR Trail Challenge and enjoyed fresh cold air. I took what I think is a boring trail. It was so far from boring!

I will let these photos speak for themselves. This is along what is called the Old Harrison Trail. It leaves the Visitor Center and heads down towards the valley. It was a road once upon a time. On one side, it is marshy and wet, on the other side there are rocks and trees.
The huge surprise was the icicles on the rocks.

With the recent alternating snows and rains water has been seeping from the rocks around pines clinging to the rocks...

I found two pairs of Canada Geese:

I saw red dogwood, the pussy willows are starting to blossom, and there were some other trees budding that I couldn't ID.

I even took a photo of myself next to the Kickapoo River and sent it to my friend to make her day a little happier?

I do wonder how I can help my friend and motivate her to go to the meal site and interact with others. 

I know motivation has to come from within and cannot be forced. 

Sigh.

I am a curious person who likes to explore and be social too. I cannot imagine losing something so precious as motivation. It would crush my life.