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3 February~2008
It is an just short of an hour's drive from my home up to Colorado Horse Rescue, which is where I went early Saturday morning. Before I started work I threw the ball for Ben and Maggie in the big field, then walked around the ranch just as the morning sun broke through the clouds. It seemed like I had a receptive equine audience when I stopped and played Old Rugged Cross on my harmonica. (above picture).
After I finished the morning's work, I went over and visited my Mother. She was anxious to see us, because she deals with one of the hard realities of getting older - not a lot to do and plenty of time to do it in, and also feeling a little forgotten. I know that my simple act of showing up at her door every couple of weeks to catch up on things and go out to dinner is a good thing. She certainly appreciates it.I linger a long time on these visits, because I enjoy the conversation as well. My house is quiet on weekends the same as hers.
Maggie is thrilled to see Mom. Ben is not so sure, because she insists on talking to him and looking at him right off, and that is moving way too quick for him. He needs to ease into being sociable, at his own speed and time.
One time though I left them tied in her back yard and ran to the hardware store for something. Mom said that Ben was nice as could be while I was gone. He even licked her hand.
Ben just doesnt like people to look straight at him unless he knows them well and is comfortable with them. Strangers that walk by looking at us are sure to induce a throaty growl that often gives them a scare. I have heard that many wild animals are that way, and that Grizzly Bears will get angry if you look right at them.
Its something that maybe I understand a little bit. When you are accustomed to a lone life, being ignored is in your comfort zone. If someone stares at you they are breaking your shelter of anonmynity, of solitude. It can be irritating.
Today I got up and took a long walk with Ben and Maggie in the morning cold - two miles each way to the natural food store. I carried an empty backpack and filled it with my week's groceries for the walk home. (mostly vegetables)
All the exercise I do - my backpacking, riding my mountain bike, dancing, is a good way to ensure my mental sharpness into old age. I say this because I went to a very interesting book signing last week at the Tattered Cover. John Ratey, a doctor from Harvard Medical School wrote a book called 'Spark - the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain.' Here's what he has to say about how exercise affects us as we age:
"We all know that exercise makes us feel better, but most of us have no idea why. We assume it's because we're burning off stress or reducing muscle tension or boosting endorphins, and we leave it at that. But the real reason we feel so good when we get our blood pumping is that it makes the brain function at its best, and in my view, this benefit of physical activity is far more important - and fascinating - than what it does for the body. Building muscle and conditioning the heart and lungs are essentially side effects. I often tell my patients that the point of exercise is to build and condition the brain. . . In today's technology-driven, plasma-screened-in world, it's easy to forget that we are born movers- animals in fact, because we've engineered movement right out of our lives. . . The sedentary character of modern life is a disruption of our nature , and it poses one of the biggest threats to our continued survival. Evidence of this is everywhere: 65 percent of our nation's adults are overweight or obese. . . What's even more disturbing and what virtually no one recognizes, is that inactiviy is killing our brains too - physically shrivelling them.
On the way back from the store, I noticed one of the first real signs of spring, other than the lengthening days - the tiny brown flowers of an elm tree in bloom. That's good news - it's hard to imagine in a two months or so I will see the green yellow of new leaflets down in the cottonwood grove, and then beyond that witness the day when the first shade appears beneath the canopy of full leaves.
I will be patient though - don't want to hurry winter past, because I sure like walking behind Ben and Maggie on these cold mornings. It makes me feel strong and simple and happy, the same as them.
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