March 2020 Beyond the Parks Exercise Challenge

[bwvBound]

Current status: 3958/3500
My Watch, aka my “coach on the wrist,” tells me I now need only 19 minutes/day to meet its goal of 4110 minutes for March. Yippie!

I’m so thankful to have the horses in my own yard. They are fantastic therapy in this strange time. So glad they are my excuse to get outside, to do physical work, to get my exercise and to be “present” (in the moment) with them.

Hope you are each doing well!

 

[sophy1996]

+30

760/1200

 

[sophy1996]

310 minutes since last check in - walking, horses, spring cleaning in the yard, took the bird for a walk on the woodland boardwalk that leads to the river - saw three deer and a pileated woodpecker

2070/1860

That sounds like a really nice walk! We have a flicker or woodpecker that has started pecking the gutter. Luckily (for us) he seems to prefer the neighbor's house.

 

[PollyannaMom]

55 new minutes: 20 treadmill yesterday and 25 on a real outdoor walk with DS today (plus 10 more on the treadmill, just to preserve the streak)

490/500

 

[bwvBound]

55 new minutes: 20 treadmill yesterday and 25 on a real outdoor walk with DS today (plus 10 more on the treadmill, just to preserve the streak)

490/500

Way to go! Look how close you are to that goal! Yeah!

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

45 minute walk

2115/1860

@bwvBound , our bird is a cockatiel. We have a harness for her which she wears when we take her outside on warmer days, and she sits on my daughter's shoulder while we walk. So the bird is not actually doing the walking, but she does seem to enjoy being outside. Cockatoos are gorgeous! There's one at Parrot Mountain in East TN named George that I have to cuddle with every time we visit. He's pink and snuggles like a human baby. He is absolutely precious. If they would let me leave with him, I would do so in a heartbeat.

@sophy1996 , I think we'll be spending a lot of time walking that area during this lockdown period. It is very pretty, so it does help lift one's mood just to be out there. I love flickers! We have a Northern Flicker in the area that occasionally visits our yard. Mostly, though, we just see red-bellied and downy woodpeckers at our feeders. Thankfully they prefer our oaks to our house! Good thing yours prefer to hang out at the neighbor's house!

@bwvBound , I agree with your comment about horses being great therapy during this time. I've always thought that about ours. I wish our home sat on enough land to have them with us. We were working towards that goal when all of this craziness hit, but property like that doesn't come up for sale often around here. Our wish list is enough land for 2 - 3 horses, fenced in already, a pond, and hopefully a barn. If no barn, we will at least put up a run-in until we can build one ourselves, but we're pretty set on the fence and pond. We're also hoping for a one-story so we won't have to worry about stairs when we're much older. Having the horses with us would make things so much easier during blanket season! Plus, it would be the best thing ever to walk out anytime of day to visit them. Nothing like hugging a horse when you're sad. That always makes me feel so much better! On the other hand, we'd also have to worry about finding someone to care for them when we travel. Too bad we're not neighbors! We could stagger our trips and help each other out! : )

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

55 new minutes: 20 treadmill yesterday and 25 on a real outdoor walk with DS today (plus 10 more on the treadmill, just to preserve the streak)

490/500

Having your DS back home must bring you so much joy during this current situation! ❤

 

[bwvBound]

Today I met met my Watch's challenge of 4110 minutes of exercise. I got my "March Challenge" digital award! Whee!

• Normal horsey chores morning and evening
• Exercised one horse
• Mowed the lawn
• Lobbed dead branches from a tree; carried the branches to our wood chip pile
• Pulled some weeds

@Twilight Sparkle , YES! wish we lived close together and could exchange animal care. I hope you have trusted people in your area for their care?
Cockatiels are so sweet. When I lived in town (rather than out here in the rural area), I used to carry my bird either on my shoulder or wrist when out walking; he loved those walks! Here, however, we have too many scary hawks; he hates hawks. Sounds like George is likely a Moluccan Cockatoo?

WDW, Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, oh, my. I'm guessing our May trip with the Epcot Moonlight Magic will be cancelled. Strange year!

 

[sophy1996]

+75 - walks and some yard work

835/1200

We're going under a statewide stay-at-home order tomorrow morning, which won't affect me much because I've been within those guidelines for almost two weeks already. (I've been working from home, just going for groceries, etc.) More walks around the neighborhood and more time for yard work, I guess!

 

[BonnieF]

Hi all! Sorry for being AWOL - I really have to get more structure in my day. The time just gets away from me too easily. Maybe I should get horses : ) or a bird!
Hitting 90% and Fitness fuchsia are Pollyanna Mom andTwilight Sparkle! And big kudos to bwvBound for beating that watch, this time for real!

I can add 40 minutes - I finally got out for a good walk when the sun came out.
bwvBound - you might squeak that trip in - here's hoping! We're booked for late October - I keep watching for the reopening - my AP expires the end of September and I'm wondering if the extension will reach me.
I looked up the Northern Flicker - what a beautiful bird!

 

[BonnieF]

Water sports not your thing? How about adventures of the four legged kind? A day at Fort Wilderness can find you riding the trails on horseback at the Circle D Ranch - a little bit of home for some of our group! Not looking for a day in the saddle but still want some equine time? A ride in a horse drawn carriage would be just the thing! Carriage rides are available at Fort Wilderness and Port Orleans resorts. A slow romantic ride along the Sassagoula River from Riverside to the quaint New Orleans inspired streets of French Quarter sounds like a wonderful way to spend an evening!

 

[bwvBound]

Maybe I should get horses : ) or a bird!

YES! More horses for everyone; and birds.

🕊

 

[piglet1979]

I have been here for awhile. Doing good working from home. DH and I are walking everyday at lunch. I need to work on getting more exercise in as I feel like I sit the rest of the day.

I grew up around horses as my grandparents had a horse farm. It was a much bigger farm that they lived off of when my mom was younger. They sold the farms when I was in my 20's to move to less land with less up keep but kept their 2 horses at the time. They are both n a nursing home now. My mom has a horse that she boards but she is selling it because he is not a very good horse. He has hurt her a few times. Nothing serious though. DD loves horses and has been taking lessons for the last 2 years. She loves it and is afraid of none of it. Even when a horse started to buck in the stall when she went to get him. Lessons for her are now cancelled for at least 2 weeks for because of our stay at home order. I am guessing this will be extended though. She is really missing it.

 

[Cinderbrella1]

Hey everyone,
Hope all is well. Beautiful sunshine these last two days has helped us to get out of the house.
I'd like to add 120 minutes on treadmill
along with 120 minutes of walking our "puppies", or wait-were they walking me?! They are very spoiled right now with all of us at home.
Speaking of horses, I've never been able to commit the time or money to take a trail ride at the Double D, although my daughters would have very much enjoyed the experience. Have always struggled with riding horses that aren't my own, especially if they might be spoiled riding the same trail day in and day out. I'm sure the Disney horses aren't trail sour, though. I think a carriage ride would be so relaxing around the Wilderness Lodge.
I was lucky to grow up with well broke Quarter horses in our barn; I sure do miss them! We only have a cart pony now, who is very fat and sassy. Still nice to work around though, as long he's given plenty of attention.
Keep the horse stories coming and stay safe everyone!!

 

[bwvBound]

(LOL. My apologies to all for sidetracking the thread from "Beyond the Parks" to "Horsey Stories.")

Edited to add:

Have always struggled with riding horses that aren't my own, especially if they might be spoiled riding the same trail day in and day out.

Me, too! But I've learned that a good, strong, warm-up on the ground before riding gives both you and the horse a good sense of one another before riding. I had an awesome lease horse for a summer course in Colorado recently. We needed to "get to know one another" rather quickly and boy, did he love our strong warm up sessions. He was quick to tell me when something was beyond his confidence or if I were "asking incorrectly." Awesome.

 

[PollyannaMom]

+50 minutes for yesterday (a long family walk outside in the sunshine and a little bit on the treadmill to preserve the streak)

540/500

i do like horses, but don’t have any in my everyday life. I ride about once a year, when we visit family in western New York. I would love to get out to Ft. Wilderness on some future Disney trip, though.

 

[bwvBound]

Woke to snow this morning. We got a dusting but the mountain to the immediate west has a good blanket as well as the top of the hill to the east. Both of these, the mountain and the hill, are within walking distance ... so I'm guessing we are only 100' below the "get real snow" level today.

@PollyannaMom , Way to go! Look how close you are to your goal! You've got this!

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

110 minute walk yesterday - we walked around the lake and along the boardwalk to the river and back. This time we were within 10 feet of a lone deer. It didn't seem bothered much by us. Such a beautiful moment in our day. We also saw three bats and a cotton mouth.

Today, DD and I are headed to the barn to ride 6 feet apart with friends. It's a beautiful, sunny, blue sky kind of day, although a little bit too warm for my taste. ; )

A stay at Ft. Wilderness is on my bucket list, and we would definitely be trail riding and canoeing. I really want to see the Ft. Wilderness stables one day. From pics and video footage I've seen, I could live there myself!

2225/1860

 

[sophy1996]

40-minute walk yesterday. Luckily, no cottonmouths (or more likely around here, rattlers)! No horses either, although there is a man with a horse who we see on the path occasionally.

875/1200

 

[BonnieF]

Today, DD and I are headed to the barn to ride 6 feet apart with friends.

Ah, Social distancing!!!

I finally got out to the garden today! It was a gorgeous spring day, at last! So I raked, pulled weeds (ugh!), and trimmed. My roses didn't make it - even thought the winter was so mild. They're full of canker, so I'll be digging them out next time out. But the daffodils are gorgeous! 90 minutes!