2020 Life Logs, Day 308: Walking, Walking, Eating, Walking
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Windy; High 55, Low 53 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Yes, waiting for the results of this election is driving me to walk, walk, eat, then walk again. Unlike many others, I actually went to bed at midnight last night. I had eaten all the chocolate and popcorn that I could tolerate. I am not normally a binge eater, but obviously the apprehension of waiting for the results of this election is driving me in that direction. In the name of health, today I directed my nervous energy to walking. I got up and checked my phone to see what had happened with the election. I learned that I had missed Biden’s update last night and Trump’s 2:30 am rant. Otherwise, things were pretty much where they were when I went to bed. I decided to leave it at that and not check back in until evening. I went for a walk with Shadow, came back and had my morning smoothie, and then went for a much longer walk with the Shad. By this time, it had warmed up a bit and the sun was shining, so when we got home I did a second coat of stain and sealant on the sandbox and outdoor redwood table. It has to be above 35 degrees for 24 hours after applying a coat and today was the first day since last week with a projected overnight temp out of the 30’s. I had a 2 pm ‘date’ with Jane Woodin to go for a walk along the water at Falmouth Heights Beach, so after lunch I headed into town. I stopped by Heather and Jed’s to put a load of laundry in and then headed to the beach to walk with Jane. We actually ended up heading inland to walk as it was quite windy along the water. But we still had a wonderful hour of conversation while walking together. I picked up Ollie after school and we picked up Jonah and went to the Skateboard Park.
By the time I got home, it was dark, but I took Shadow for another walk. We walked on the path through the woods behind the cottage and then headed out on the road. The fourth house up the street from my house has been empty since I moved here two years ago. Tonight as we passed that house I heard a man calling to me from across the street asking if I had heard about the big coyote. No. What big coyote? He explained that last night he had seen a very big coyote walking down the street and he suspects that it is living under the abandoned house. Great. That is Shadow’s favorite place to relieve himself. I thanked the man and as I walked away, he called after me telling me to be careful. I acknowledged and walked on and he called out again telling me that I really need to be careful. I am thankful that a neighbor that I have never met before would take the time to make sure I am aware of such things. About two months ago Shadow started barking during the evening for no apparent reason. Then I noticed the scat of some large animal in the woods behind my house, right next to my back steps, and in Shirley’s yard down by the water. I have a feeling that large animal is the big coyote. Every night before bedtime, I take Shadow out for a walk on the path in the woods beside the cottage, around the house, and sometimes down to the water by Shirley’s. I need to do that right now, but I think I’ll skip the walk on the path in the woods. If I come face to face with the big coyote, I would rather be in an open area where Shadow and I might be able to make a slow and careful retreat without tripping on one of the vines in the woods. Just writing about this is making me a little nervous. Maybe I need some popcorn before heading outside!
