Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Sunday's Walk

I was looking up at the vines that circled in the tree canopy above me. I couldn't capture the way the vines were circling around, using my phone camera, but I thought I would share this photo anyway.
These pretty yellow flowers were all over along side the trail:
I was actually doing a little running on Sunday and almost stepped on this branch:
Um, it wasn't a branch! I am not sure if it was alive. I wasn't going to touch it, even with a long stick! I wouldn't let Ziva touch it either. I think it was a speckled king snake. It was about three or four foot long and not too big around for such a long snake. I did watch it for a little while and never saw its tongue flickering or eyes opening. It was probably just coming out into the sun to warm up for a day of hunting.
They are not poisonous. I have only seen striped garden snakes back when I lived in Minnesota as a child. I know that there are a lot of snakes in Arkansas. I like snakes, but not enough to want to own one or check one out tooooooo closely! I will keep a better lookout for snakes on the trail in the future! I also saw a baby bird and a box turtle on the trail. None of these are as exciting as the snake, or the deer last fall, but I enjoy seeing all types of wildlife. I should take more photos too!

I am doing ok, in spite of the rise in poundage. I am officially up four pounds from my lowest weigh-in of 184. I am not happy about it but I am not giving up on myself because of it either. I am still thinking the let down after April's craziness, a bout of mild depression, and having stopped smoking, are the major contributing factors. I did reassess my food and exercise regime. Both are right on track. I triple checked to be sure the calories I am eating are correct for me and they are. For now, I plan to just enjoy being 100 pounds lighter than I was a year and a half ago. I am in a wait and see mode, to see if anything changes. At the end of this month, my exercise routines will change due to school being out for summer. That alone may just kick my metabolism back into weight loss mode.

Ziva says, "Let's go into the light Mom."
"As long as it is sunlight, Ziva, I am ok with that."

Bye for now and see you on the trails!

2 comments:

Cynthia said...

Hi Sherri,
I'm sorry you're going through a tough spot. But that's what it is. A tough spot. Like all tough spots, it will pass. I went through something similar in January, where I was exercising the way I always had, eating the right number of calories, even largely eating the same foods day after day (I get into a rut sometimes), yet I kept bouncing up and down week after week. I am a super-tracker of everything I put in my mouth and I log all my exercise, so I know nothing about my behavior had changed. I did not "deserve" this. It was awful and made me start to questions everything I was and had been doing. But I just told myself that it didn't matter whether I never lost another pound because this is the way I live now. Reasonable eating and exercise was my lifestyle now. I still don't know why, but one day I woke up down two pounds from the previous day and over the next 8 days, my body somehow "let go" of 11 pounds! I've been at this a year and a half and that remains the only time something so dramatic has happened. I still don't know why, but somehow my body was holding on. Granted, this was weird and I'm not saying the same thing will happen to you, but eventually, things will get moving in the right direction again. You should be very proud of your ability to keep on keeping on in spite of this setback. THAT is the real victory. THAT shows you are a different person than you were a year and half ago. I hope things turn around for you soon.
Cynthia

Sherri said...

What a great posting Cynthia! I really appreciate your input and when I post next time, you'll see that most of the same things have happened to me too. I am doing better. I never gave up.

Thanks for taking the time for your thoughtful and helpful commentary!

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