We are getting to enjoy fall here in North Texas. The temperature is mild – up to 70 degrees today – and tonight the breeze was cool, not cold. The full moon lit up the night, which made an evening stroll quite pleasant.
While we are here, it’s raining in LA. Over an inch today. Rain is not common there, so I hate to miss it. A break in the usual sunny weather is a treat. But here, it feels and smells like fall. A freshness in the air, maybe with a hint of oak leaves since we have piles of them in the back yard. A lovely clean smell. The air here often smells sweet to me. That’s when I realize that my Southern California air isn’t quite so clean. The comparison between the air there and here in rural Texas is marked.
We are outside a lot when we are here – working in the yard or in the barn or in the little guest house or across the street at the house which has been another project for a while. We zip up and down stairs, carry heavy furniture, haul trash, clean, sort, tidy, and decorate. We are both very active from the minute we step on to the property until the moment we drive away. No couch-potato action for us; no casual television watching either. We both feel better being out and about. In LA, it’s sometimes a challenge to get enough exercise. Never in Texas. It is the nature of our work here versus in CA.
In LA, I sit much of the day while I work with students. Ray sits, too, coordinating activities for various renovation projects, and also while supervising our Texas projects from 1500 miles away. We are constantly busy in LA, but it’s a different kind of work – more focused on paperwork and coordination; not physical work and action. Give me the latter any day.
I love my work in LA, but I adore the work here in Texas because it requires me to be more physically active. I am happy, healthier and more centered when I get enough physical activity in a day. The challenge is to find ways in CA to keep me as active as I am while in Texas.
We’re working on that. One solution is to go out and work in the yard everyday. Another is to go up to Ojai at least one day per week and work at the orange grove. I think both will get us up and out. That is the goal, after all.
But for now, I’m ready to hit the sack. A long busy day, which should make for a good night sleep. Here’s to that!
Night night to all. How do you stay physically active? Share your solutions in the Comments section, please.
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