Interesting

Well that was very interesting regarding the 'Retreat' Motivational Thing. I will give it credit as the ladies who are working on it are really working hard. And their program that is offered will resonate with a certain clientele. 

Speaking of Retreats and other events, our area has had quite the uptick of folks moving in from California, Chicago, and other areas. Viroqua became a magnet for a change of culture and people. Good article here:

How Hippies Saved Viroqua

On main street you can find the most interesting store fronts from herbalist to palm reading, art, eclectic antiques, Gelato, and more.

There are always interesting 'offers' that make you scratch your head and go...hmmmm...

There is a farm that lets you pay a fee and join other women to hang out in Hammocks in their forest and um...well...for a fee of something like $60, you can do Nature Journaling. You can find your connections to the natural world and learn that women are um 'magical'.

Here is another one: Dear Friends, you can now apply for an apprenticeship. The magical plant herbalism apprenticeship is now open for enrollment for a fee of $1600. She offers her best selling book also and claims that she is an award winning author. 

I did search out her name and looked for her awards and didn't find them.

Can you say, Snake Oil Salesperson?

Maybe I can offer something too! 

For a small hourly fee, I can take guide you through my magical mystical wild woods with my Goat Sven as a loving and endearing companion. 

Actually, I can only offer what I have learned in life. But it isn't for sale, it is free. 

I try not to give advice because I never spend time in another person's shoes. 

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for

...and the most you can do is live inside that hope."

Quote from Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams.

I am pretty pleased with how things turned out. Until I moved here and joined hubby, I was really afloat in that big outside world.

I find my days mostly pleasing.

Where else can you go and sit in the middle of a road and enjoy a sunrise??

Motivational Speak and Empowerment....

 Oxford Dictionary:

Empowerment definition:
the authority or power given someone to do something
or
the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.

Motivational Speak:
Emotional message and purpose...yaddah yaddah...and so forth.

So there are some gals holding a Woman's Retreat to help Empower women so they can meet challenges in life. Yoga, Self Defense, Hike in Nature, Catered Lunch, Motivational Speaker, and so forth for a whole day. 

One of the gals who I know through the gym was asking me if I would attend. I  gave an evasive answer because even though I'd love to spend the day doing stuff with these women pals, I wasn't exactly comfy with the whole scenario. 

There is a nearly $200 price tag for the day. It would probably be a lot of fun. Even at my age, the word "Networking" comes to mind. These women own businesses and are pretty impressive on their own.

But the word EMPOWERMENT kept nagging at me. To me it means something different???

After a day of using the air compressor, a drill, a saw, a mini chain saw, handling chores, moving mules around, checking to see why one mule had a sore foot, watering, cooking for the two of us and sorting meds for the next week.............I sat back on a overturned bucket in the shed. 
I decided to think about this event. 

Conquering Through: Facing Challenges!!! 

Hmmm. 

I'm a Caregiver and I also take care of our little 'farm' and all the decisions that have to do with the house/farm maintenance.
Facing challenges? Most of you know that folks who care for others do face daily challenges and not the kind that will be talked about by a Motivational Speaker.

I mean, if I was there, could I contribute on how to handle a loved one when bathing them? How to agree with someone who knows the sky IS purple today? 

I don't think that is going to be anywhere near what is going to be covered. 

Back to Empowerment. 
Empowerment definition:
the authority or power given someone to do something
or
the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.

Yep. I wanted a tree swing for years. Yesterday I gave myself
the authority and power to do it.

I also wanted to trim a tree and build a spot
where I could watch deer from a place 
in another tree. So I built a place for my

morning coffee..
while I sit in the little stand with my 
back against the massive trunk.

The view from this little stand allows me
to gaze over our little meadow and
the neighbor's land to the east.
I can see the house from here and yet
I can feel removed from indoors and
feel surrounded by
nature.

Oh heck, by the end of the day I felt pretty powerful errrr, empowered? 

It is nice that I was asked [now over and over!]. But I wonder if those that are in charge of organizing the Retreat realize that I am a generation ahead of them. The target age of those organizing and running the retreat and those going are in their 30's and 40's.

I'm sort of torn between wanting to go and thinking that there is really nothing in it for me. I am curious though as to what this next generation is thinking. 
That would be interesting.

I mean, I recall burning bras! I recall title IX which allowed females to play sports! It was a civil right for women! 

Suddenly I was able to play on a team and not just after school intramurals. 

Bam! One year later women gained more access to health care with Roe V Wade.
I understand that the younger women of today are facing all sorts of challenges that are different from my generation.

Should I go? Hmmm? The worst that could happen...is that I learn something from a different perspective.

So there you go....

My Inspirational and Motivational Thought today?

Last note: Red Flag Warning for us through tonight and tomorrow. YIKES!

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.

Personal Training

So, why would anyone pay for personal training. I mean, come on. We all know that moving and exercising is clearly the way to better health.

I walk, hike, and bike so I should be excellent right? 

I don't need any training, I know what I should be doing.

Huh.

Well. Not really. I had a talk with one of the coaches at the gym and I signed up for a half hour session. She contacted me with several questions regarding my diagnosis.

When I got to the gym, I felt silly. Here I was paying someone to tell me what to do and how to do it. Dumb idea. 

I warmed up on a bicycle while she finished up with a class. Then she waved me over.

There was no hesitation. Angie said, "Let's get to it."

I went through a series of exercises that I'd received from Physical Therapy last year. While I was doing them and she was making sure that I kept my core tight [and she explained that these particular muscles guard the lower back]...
I kept thinking. 

Well duh, I know this stuff. I can do it at home. Why am I paying someone to tell me to do this? 

Do you want to know the answer? Easy. She making me do it. She made sure that I did it correctly. 

We did a lot of core exercises and then moved to lifting. Whether you want to believe it or not, we lift all the time and we lift wrong especially as we age and become less mobile.

Strengthening and mobility go hand in hand to prevent injuries.

It has been nearly a year since I have been to CrossFit. After receiving that diagnosis that blew my mental world apart, I did make an attempt at doing my exercises that PT gave me. But with no one standing there and making me do it, I put it off. 

It was so easy just to say to myself: Well I walked a lot today and I mowed grass, gardened, and did chores. That should be enough.

Most days in the last several months ended with me having sore back muscles. They constantly ached and if I sat for a bit, I felt like I was 100 years old when I stood up to go get a drink of water.

What did I learn? 

One thing.
I felt good afterwards but wondered if this would really make a difference.

I got home and mowed the yard, weeded the shade garden and did other normal everyday things.

I sat down to watch TV. When I got up a little later to walk out and watch the sunset...

It ... hit...

me.

There was NO low back muscle pain. The muscles were not tight, the muscles didn't hurt. 

For the first time in months my back muscles didn't hurt. 

It sounds like I am one of those annoying 'fitness' people doesn't it?

Here is my conclusion. I could do nothing and take pricey medications with lots of side effects that make me sick and see the doctor more often. I could follow my physical therapy exercises... OH, wait, I tried that already. 

My PT exercises I got are on the frig. I don't know if they help the frig or not.

But that was not working for me. I actually feel like a huge weight was lifted from me this week. 

Fingers crossed that I can keep up the good work. 

The motivation from my 'coach' is great. Positive vibes do work.

I'm pleased and I guess that is all that matters.

 

Well maybe... by Charlie

I don't have a problem coming to Her when called at all.

She just has to learn how to do it properly.

This morning She had to go out at the beginning of the day and she decided to take me along as I was getting into trouble.
She was upset because I had just killed the Hedgehog with the cap by ripping its back end out, and then I put a hole in my little bed and started to eat the stuffing.

And She said I'd been dragging the Limey Hedgehog into the boot tray and got it full of mud. 
Big Sighs. I think She was ex-has-er-parated with me.

The Dexter Cattle were mooing like crazy. She had moved them from the winter pasture to the mule winter pasture. She said something about moving them to the Forest Pasture in a day after they settled down.

So out we went. She couldn't find my cord but thought it would be just fine.

It was foggy and rainy and the yard was wet.  But She said it was very pretty and she had that camera thing out.

I wasn't impressed, I had trails to find and deer pellets to look out for.

She was looking at tree stuff.

I don't care for tree stuff because I am interested in Ground Stuff.

Like deer poop.

And She thinks it is gross. Dixie says She used to yell at The Morris Dog and holler 'Icky Icky'. Well, She still does. I'm getting the idea that She doesn't think I should nibble on deer poop.

So we are working on something where I am supposed to go to Her when She calls my name.

"Charlie! Come" 
My response is, "Let me think about it."

"Charlie! Come Here!" 
Much more serious sounding. 
My response is, "Well, maybe."

"Charlie!"
Ohhh, just my name. 
My response. "Maybe later!"

And then I hear, "Charl---lie. Come. Now."
And I also hear the rustle of the treat bag.
Finally! She is understanding motivation!

I only get a tiny bit of treat and the rest of the walk I do actually come when called. Mostly.

Well, maybe She will eventually learn.
One can hope, right?