athletic advernture: archery

Today I took my international student to the archery range. I'm glad I picked the indoor one. It was pouring.

When I called Friday I wasn't sure what was going on, so I decided not to shoot. My girl kicked butt. She ended up having a class. When testing her strength for the bow the instructor noticed how she held the arrow. Americans don't do it that way. (He called her hold medieval. Pretty spot-on for a country as old as Turkey. Thankfully I don't think she heard it.)

She started with a regular bow, then moved on to one with a scope. She missed the target twice. One hit the bottom wall and came tearing back at us. Mostly she hit red, and quite often, yellow.

Given some practiced she'd really be good at this. She told the instructor she wanted to learn Olympic style archery. He said, you just did. Turkey's Olympic team, here she comes.

athletic adventure: walking with llamas

Back in spring, I saw something on one of the news magazines about a farm that allows you to walk llamas.  I was immediately smitten and contacted the farm. So did a lot of other people. Since they don't walk in the summer heat, we accepted a reservation for Wednesday.

It took nearly two hours to get there. I should have hairbrained ideas closer to home. When we made the reservation Lydia was working retail. Now she's back to social work. She told them she needed the day off when they hired her. They said send pictures. She did.

We arrived a half-hour early. But she didn't mind. Another family was joining us.  While we waited, we met the chickens. They were growing their winter feathers. It was kind of cool to see them. I know now more about chickens than I ever need. Their chicken coop is a palace.

After the other family arrived, we met the llamas. We were allowed to choose, but as you can see here with Bonnie and Carbon, they kind-of picked you. They were mostly laying down when we arrived, but as soon as they hear the barn door they were on their feet. We met each llama. Included was their name, age, breed, and because we asked, what kind of fiber the llama yielded. It's amazing—the age and the breed determine the fiber. Some are course, some are fine, some soft ...

After learning the commands we spent some time practicing in the pasture with cones and logs. And then we were off to the woods.

Lydia's llama, Eduardo (Eddie) is the biggest and usually leads the walks. He was pissed that he was second. Lydia had her hands full. He kept stopping. Once he pooped he was actually better. What was really interesting is when one pooped, they all pooped. Bonnies was last. We were ready to head out from the poop-stop and Carbon decided he'd poop now. Llamas pick one place to poop. There are three places on the route. In fact, at the barn, they have a "litterbox".

We walked against the fence rail and into the woods. I got the lyrics to "Into The Woods" stuck in my head. Crossing into the woods trail was a bit tricky because neighbors use ATVs. Or else there is a huge erosion issue.

On the way back we stopped for a "candy" break. Pine needles. They couldn't eat too much or they'd get a belly ache.

We walked to the lake, and then came back to the barn.

My llama's name was Clemente.  Here he is with Bev, the owner.

Was it exercise? Probably not. Maybe more of a saunter. Was it fun? Yes.

golv: woodland hills nature preserve

I haven't done the last two Get Out Lehigh Valley walks. The one at Lake Nockamixion was rocky and steep. The one at Bake Oven Nob was very rocky. A girl without health insurance should not be playing on rocks. Especially when she has a track record of falling.

Each time I come to this place something has changed. This year was the addition of a third loop. An ADA-approved macadam path that's about a half mile long. We used this trail, as well as the inner blue loop.

It's been about 10 years since this 148-acre property was left to go back to nature. The meadows are fairly established and most vestiges of the old golf course are pretty much gone. I saw a few posts, but no signs. I did notice that someone has been planting seedlings in the meadows. Some were oak. Others had no leaves so I couldn't tell. My guess is that they are mixed varieties which have different growth times and life spans. Perhaps one day this will be shadier and more forested.

These walks start at 10 am. I have plenty of time do things before I leave. Since I cancelled my newspaper subscription I no longer have a morning paper to read. It's been 6 months and I still haven't adjusted. Sharon brings over the weekly paper so I read that. On the "faith" page there with a picture of a pumpkin labyrinth, located at a church in Emmaus. I thought about going, but I wasn't headed that direction at all.

Since today's walk was short I decided to waste the gas and go. I like that ancient stuff. And the ball and chain roommate wouldn't notice the difference. So I hopped on the highway in Hellertown and got off Cedar Crest Blvd.  The church was easy to find. And the pumpkins not too difficult either. However, they were well hidden from traffic.

It's interesting to visit a maze and a labyrinth in the same week. One is designed to lose yourself (which we did quite well), and the other to find yourself. The rhythm of slowly putting one foot in front of the other is supposed to empty the mind, relax the body and refresh the spirit. Needless to say I was not successful there.

But I did it anyway. I was surprised how long I was there walking that very tight circle.

Miles/Steps:           2 for both activities. Clearly the GOLV walk was short. It makes sense because of how early we finished

Weather:                my car said 49 degrees when I left. My guess mid-50s, sunny

Bathrooms:            Port-A-Potty in lot. But I didn't use it

maize maze

My campus was on fall break Monday and Tuesday, so I invited my international student to go to a corn maze. I do this almost every year. I have no idea why. I never know if they enjoy themselves or not. At this point in the relationship, I haven't figured them out yet. And then when I do, they go home!

When you're hosting International students, you have to be prepared to answer any questions. Things we do like walking thru fields of corn don't happen elsewhere or so I thought. Things like Thanksgiving and Columbus Day are even trickier.

The first corn maze was cut in 1993 in Annville, Pa. at Lebanon Valley College. It was 3 acres and had a path of 1.92 miles. I know I walked thru my first one at Grim's farm in the late 90s. It's was simpler then. Mom sat in the barn on a folding chair and chatted with the staff. I went and got lost in the field. We had to sign in when we entered and out when we exited.  I think we went because I saw a handwritten sign on Rt. 222 said corn maze and wanted to see what it was.

Now they are all over. It's now called agri-tourism and is a way to make money in the offseason. Grims and Seiple's have the biggest displays around here.  I like the small ones. This particular one at Raub's Farm Market has games to play where you're searching for stuff. It's not an "enter/exit" two and a half hours later. I found out looking up information that they are now a global fall event in countries like the UK, Germany, New Zealand ...

 I picked up Fegul and her friend Onur (From Turkey) at noonish, and we headed to the farm. I'm not sure what the real address is, but I'd call it Tatemy. We checked in, she gave us a variety of games, and we headed into the field. We were not successful at any one of them. For the two Clue-like games we ended up with two pairs, not one. For the number game, we searched high and low for 6 and 9 and didn't find them.

We kept getting separated. I kept finding Fegul but Onur was on his own. Eventually, we all came back together. Two hours had passed. Onur wondered how far we had walked and I said I'll check my pedometer. I didn't have my FitBit on! Drats. (it looks like I lost it. Again.)

Oh, and that thing I thought about them not liking corn mazes. I was wrong. I posted this collage in Instagram and Fegul thanked me. And then this happened:

No Fitbit. No stats.

crop walk

This afternoon was the Bethlehem Crop Walk for world hunger. It began under the Hill-to-Hill Bridge. This is a faith-based organization so the teams were from Bethlehem churches. I can pretty much guarantee that I was the only atheist there. (Someone told me I'm a humanist. Isn't that the same thing? I just looked it up. I think they are right. I'm a humanist.)

Since I was walking solo, my brother Dave told me that Bob would be there and I should look for him. Then I'd have someone to walk with. Bob is a caterer and runs the "Freezer Ministry" and the "Emergency Shelter" cooking projects at East Hills Moravian Church. I help with both. The sheltering program is once a month for four months, and the freezer ministry (food for people with short term needs) every three or four months. We'll be cooking for that this afternoon.

I couldn't find Bob, or another volunteer named Pete.  But I found someone else. A former colleague—Rita—walking with St. Andrews team. It was nice seeing her. It's been quite a while.

This walk has routes for all abilities. There is a .3 walk for those who just want to walk the square around the green. There is a 1 mile wheelchair accessible route. Then the 3 mile and 6 mile routes. Four choices, but I think the 3 was the most popular.

I also chose the three. It went to Sand Island and used the D&L Canal path. While walking I noticed that the canal had a lot of trash in it.  The 6 mile also went there, and then when you returned to Main Street, it went up the hill, out Main and Broad till 10th. Then back Market, I think. They tried to cut out the bulk of the hills.

When I last did this walk —probably more than a decade ago, I couldn't find a mention in the blog search—we walked both the north and south sides. I was disappointed that the three miles was only on Sand Island and that we didn't cross the bridge.

It was a good walk. We started at 1:30 and I was done by 2:20. I'm happy with that, especially since I haven't done a 5K in forever.

Miles/Steps:           3

Weather:                mid-60s, sunny

Wildlife:                  a pair of mallards

Bathrooms:            Well there is the one on Sand Island. But I didn't see anything at the event 

update

For theist year I've Benin a funk. I'ma trees and emotional eater so my diet has been a disaster. And y'all know how much I've been walking. There's nothing to read.

My doctor's appointment was on October 9th. I've been dreading it since at least June. Every day I get up and say I'm going to eat better today, m and I don't. I was one month away and I was still trying to eat better. I failed miserably. At some point, late in September, I threw in the towel. I stopped stressing and decided it is what it is.

Saturday, the 5th I finally did my poop test. I didn't mail it till Monday. Monday, the 7th, I went for the blood work. I secretly prayed that it wouldn't come back on time. The RX expired on the 8th.

On Tuesday—it was pretty early — my email dinged. It was my results. With great hesitation, I logged into MyLVH and looked. I PASSED! Everything was okay. I walked into the doctor's office feeling confident, not defeated. The nurse weighed me and I was down four pounds, and my blood pressure was high, but not nearly as high as usual. I even agreed to get a mammy before my FAP runs out. And the best part is ... hold on to your hats ... I was not charged for the doctor's visit. My FAP covered it all.

I was on top of the world. Then Wednesday night I was cooking dinner and had to use the bathroom. I didn't need to do the normal things, I felt like my period was back. And it was. Post-menopausal bleeding is back. Two days so far. Better rob a bank to pay for that D&C!

10/18
My Mammogram appointment was yesterday. The results came back. My boobies are fine. I get to keep them.

The post-menopausal bleeding mostly stoped in 2 days.  However very minor spotting is still happening.

on a whim

As I was walking over the Hill-To-Hill bridge there was a ton of activity below me. I'm not sure what made me connect the activity with the CROP Walk. But I did. I made a mental note. If it's tomorrow I could do it, since I was suddenly free.

After my disaster at the library, I sat on the railing and looked it up on my phone. Indeed it was tomorrow. Walking home I thought about it a lot.

I googled it on my laptop, found out it was fret walk, and said,, I'm doing this.  And I signed up. It's 24-hours before the event and they gave me a fundraising page. I made a letter and sent it to a couple people, but frankly, I don't anticipate anyone giving. Not at the 11th hour. The letter is below if you want to contribute. It pretty much says what you read here. I'm sure CROP takes the $$ even after the event.

Good afternoon,

I was walking over the Hill-To-Hill bridge this morning and there was activity under it. There is always activity under it. Then I realized that maybe it was CROP walk weekend. It is. So I decided ... on a whim ... to sign up to walk since I have zero plans tomorrow. I cook for the freezer ministry, and feed the homeless, so it really does make sense to walk for hunger. Right? I'm walking solo. 

Anyway, they give me a fundraising page. I expect that nobody will donate — especially at the 11th hour — but what the heck. If you are so inclined, please visit my personal page: https://www.crophungerwalk.org/bethlehempa/gfhendricks

plans go awry

This weekend I thought I was shooting archery with my international student Figen, and working at a craft fair with my brother David. Bonnie had emailed me about doing the Lighthouse Challenge and I said no, I was booked solid. Then Figen canceled and the craft show is next week. It's Saturday morning and I had a whole weekend free.

This morning I decided to go to the library for qigong, but I relied on my memory for the start time. I thought it was 11-12:30. I'd leave the house at 10 and then I could walk over the Hill-to-Hill bridge and go to the library. At 10 they should be working on the fiber mural outside.

I arrived at 10:30 and they weren't out there. Okay, I'll just go upstairs early. The second floor is an office and the huge new children's library, and one meeting room. I turned the corner to the meeting room and the door was closed. Inside people were doing qigong. I decided to wait till a stopping point and quietly go in. They were doing the complete series. I waited 15 minutes and then left.

I cut thru the sculpture garden and came home the Fahy Bridge. I went down the stairs to 2nd Street and cut thru the Banana Factory parking lot. 

As I was darting across the street to the Comfort Suites I noticed these two conflicting signs. The "Future site of..." has been there for years. The greenway is done except for that block. But the property has a for sale sign on it. So if they are going to sell the property how can the expand the greenway?

Miles/Steps:           3+

Weather:                mid 60s, sunny

Bathrooms:             none.

a walk in penn's woods

This weekend was the annual Walk In Penns Woods. It is a one-day commonwealth-wide event when Pennsylvanians walk in — and celebrate — Penn’s Woods! Forty-eight counties (of 67) are participating. Open houses and guided woods walks showcasing the multiple values and diverse uses of our state’s priceless forest resources are being held in rural, urban and suburban woods, state and national forests and parks, municipal watersheds, conserved areas, and on private lands.

I found about about this walk on Facebook. I thought I was on everyone's email list, but clearly I'm not. I hadn't even heard of the event till this popped up on my feed. When I checked the website this event is the closest to me, with Durham being between Hellertown and Riegelsville.

This year's walk guided walk took place on three private properties within Durham Township. they allowed 3 hours for a 1.5 mile hike. It took us four hours. The hike—it was not a walk— traversed former roads and paths through the old-growth forest and the blue heron rookery (group of nests) on Cooks Creek. That explained a lot about why we have so many blue herron in the area. However, the resident bald eagles are eating the young. They may solve the problem. I wonder. if they could develop a taste for spotted lantern flies.

Cooks Creek is one of the few streams in Bucks County designated as an "Exceptional Value" (EV) stream. It has native trout as well as the invasive brown trout.

Clearly this was an information hike, not a exercise hike. We stopped frequently and for large periods of time. Part of the reason it took 4 hours. We even did stream studies. Sarah, the guide, provided information about the forest, native plants and animals and the human history of the area. There was a lot of invasive plants on this walk, and the number of insects destroying the trees is mind-blowing. Someone else did the water ecology and stream studies. Steve, maybe?

I was glad I took my hiking stick. The trails were often very natural -- roots and rocks.

Miles/Steps:           my Fitbit said 4.5

Weather:                mid-50s, overcast, with showers

Wildlife:                  the water critters, a bald eagle, Herron nests

Bathrooms:             none