SWMBO can tell you, and we have the pictures to prove it, that I was known for going to the edge of precipices, clambering around on boulders in streams, taking chances on my footing.
But those days are gone as I approach the end of my 75th year on the planet.
My knees aren't as flexible as they once were.
My balance isn't near what it once was.
So after a couple of slightly scary incidents in recent years, I've taken to doing whatever outdoor activity is on my agenda with a hiking stick.
I stick to the trail system in our development.
They call them "trails".
For the most part I call them "sidewalks".
Occasionally I walk down to this small park a short distance from where I live.
It's not much.
Just a circle of grass and on this particular day it was looking gloomy under cloudy skies.
But it does have an advantage I never would have thought of in my more physical days: several park benches to rest on.
Several of my Gentle Readers commented yesterday on their own difficulties with age.
Tom, in California, says he sticks to trails nowadays as his knees and ankles seem more tenuous.
Steve, in Germany, said heights never bothered him when he was younger but now they do.
It seems that we're all growing not just older but actually "old".
I was thinking about this after I woke this morning but was still clinging to the warmth of bed and the futile hope that I might go back to sleep.
Oh well. I still have my window next to my desk and I can still watch my birds as they come to the bird bath and the tree above it.
This little goldfinch, if that's what it is, seemed to be warming himself in the sun of a brighter day recently.
Newcomers here think winter is over as the temperature rises into the 60's.
But those of us who have lived here for awhile know that Old Man Winter can surprise us over the next couple of months.
The day SWMBO and I opened our bookstore, back in 1996 after a very mild winter, a snowstorm dumped several inches on us.
That was in the first week of March.
I had envisioned a nice day snuggled down amidst my books welcoming eager customers.
Instead I spent much of the day shoveling the sidewalk in front of the store and we took in less than 30 dollars.
Nowadays, I'd hire some kids to do the shoveling and it would probably cost me $30.
So it goes.
