And The Trees Sang

I am not outdoorsy. Blame it on my irrational phobias. Or my prone-to-sunburn-fair-Dutch-skin. Or laziness. Or, maybe, I am plagued by GS, Goldilocks Syndrome. I like my environment to be not too hot and not too cold and not too buggy and not too breezy. Suffice it to say, the outdoors is rarely "just right", especially in the upper plains.

Due to a lapse of consciousness or other such nonsense, I recently challenged myself to take a walk in the great outdoors every day. I set for myself two ground rules. First, no making excuses based on the weather. Second, find a way to deal with my dog paranoia. Sounds easy enough. Time with tell.

Those of you living in my area know the wind has been brutal and incessant this past month. We are well accustomed to swirling air but forty-mile-an-hour sustained winds with gusts of sixty-plus are testing the resolve of many. My plan for the wind is to get outside and deal with it. My sturdy frame comes in handy when the arctic blasts buffet me in the open landscape of the city park I frequent. Sometimes my back is to the wind and I gain a little speed. Other times, I don my ear warmers, bow my head and press onward as I gulp large volumes of air. I am giving myself a weather pass if it is raining. Willful tromping around in falling water seems stupid, particularly if thunder and lightning are in the mix.

My dog issue is a greater challenge than the weather. Just the sound of a barking dog makes me hyperventilate. I do not speak dog nor do I read their social cues so I am loads of fun for a canine in need of a day brightener. I am using a two-prong approach to help mitigate this problem. First, I stay within a fairly tight radius of my house. This gives me the illusion of being close to safety if I feel threatened in any way. I have a well-developed dog radar and my senses kick into high gear when needed. My second line of defense is pet spray. Yes, dog owners of my neighborhood, you have been warned. I promise to use it only under duress and I will announce that I am armed and minimally dangerous. As a side note, my little can of pet spray is classified as humane so I do not believe any pups will be harmed in the process of me trying to activate my can.

I have no grand visions of becoming an outdoors woman or training for the Pacific Coast Trail, a' la Cheryl Strayed. My only goal is to absorb a little bit of nature and vitamin D each day. I am already feeling a stronger connection with my urban environment. The sturdy evergreen trees in the park sing a little tune for me daily as their branches catch the wind. A clan of crows jabber and gossip as I walk by their turf. Robins frantically peck away on the lawns in a quest for fat juicy earthworms. Chickadees perform antiphonal choral renditions from the treetops. A lone woodpecker rounds out the symphony with a little percussion. Squirrels make kamikazee runs across the busy streets. And, yes, dogs are heard barking.

Here's to nature. Say hello to the birds and keep your head down in the wind.