Notes from a messy desk….
They say the best exercise is the one you’ll actually do. I have no idea who “they” are, but I agree. The one exercise I’ll usually do is take a good old fashioned walk. Prince Albert has this fantastic feature that circles the city, called the Rotary Trail; maybe you’re familiar with it. During winter, the trail gets plowed and sanded regularly. I recommend checking it out.
A simple walk can make a person more aware of nature’s gifts. Even in freezing temperatures it’s tempting to snap way too many photos of said gifts with your handy dandy smartphone. You’re marching along in your winter-tread clodhoppers when – Ooh! Those magical frosted branches! Click. Whoa, take in that sky – a living one it is! Clickety click click.
Back at home and scrolling through the pix, after deleting half a dozen fuzzy images of your thumb, you question how it’s possible to score 20 ho-hum pictures from such gorgeous scenery. Then, surprise – an image calls out “please print and frame me!” And that’s how some photos end up in the Winter Festival Art Show. (Which, as it happens, is currently on at the Mann Gallery by the bottom of the Diefenbaker bridge until March 21, with no admission fee, although donations are gratefully accepted. You’re welcome.)
Despite the benefits of walking outdoors, I confess to being a wimpy walker when surfaces are icy. And boy, have they been icy this year. The Alfred Jenkins Field House on the west hill offers deals to seniors who use the indoor track, and P.A.’s two shopping malls welcome indoor walkers as well. Also, many citizens own treadmills, which don’t require leaving home but do require discipline. Which I hear tell some people possess. Go treadmillers!
I admire those who ski, snowshoe, snowboard and skate. What a great way to enjoy a Canadian winter! Due to frailer bones, some of us more mature folks (see how nicely I put that?) are advised to avoid riskier activities. However, this doesn’t prevent one from exercising thoughts of yesteryear’s outdoor community rinks: gliding hand-in-mitt across the ice in a game of crack the whip, before sliding on your ski suit padded butt right into the boards. Good times! Other than the mishaps involving broken bones or concussions, of course.
There’s another exercise I’ll actually do this time of year. Snow shovelling. Our recent February snowfall event blessed us with 35 centimetres of the fluffy white stuff. Yay!! (said some kid under age 10).
I think our Team P.A. shovel handlers, snowblower wrestlers, and vehicle pusher-outers deserve medals for their Snow-lympic efforts. I’m particularly grateful to the two young ladies who pushed my car out of a nasty back lane rut. Snow angels do exist, and you can acknowledge them via the City of P.A. website to have their good works recognized.
I think our Team P.A. shovel handlers, snowblower wrestlers, and vehicle pusher-outers deserve medals for their Snow-lympic efforts. I’m particularly grateful to the two young ladies who pushed my car out of a nasty back lane rut. Snow angels do exist, and you can acknowledge them via the City of P.A. website to have their good works recognized.
Inspiring people abound. To those dedicated souls who stick to their fitness regimens on an ongoing basis, congratulations – way to go! I aspire to your level of success in utilizing this marvelous machine we call the human body.
For now, however, I’ll carry on with the best exercise I know of – the one I will actually do. My calendar says it’s March… so just give me a shovel and a bullet to bite on.
Lorna Blakeney is an avid writer who enjoys photography, history, travel, and genealogy. She was born and raised in Prince Albert, earned a B.A. from the University of Saskatchewan, likes to walk, and loves coffee shops.
