Zig zag

Thursday:

Here is a picture of the Arboretum that shows where I walked today (credit thtstudios):

I don't know how long ago this was taken, the hillsides here seem to be empty. There are young trees now on the far hill, although it is still probably the barest part of the Arboretum.

Went there this morning, parked at the café on top of the hill and then walked down. You can see the zig-zag gravel path in the picture. It must go back and forth 20 or 30 times. I didn't bother with the path on the way down, I walked on the grass beside it straight down the slope, but I did use the path part of the way back up. The hill is steeper than it looks and quite long. Lots of zags! 30 min walk in total, half of the distance (and two thirds of the time) uphill. It was nice except for the flies, by the end I was sick of doing the "Aussie Salute" - swishing flies away from my face.

When I was looking for nice photos of the Arboretum, I found a lot of this:

It is a huge sculpture of a nest made out of metal spanners and things. (this photo by KatieTT) I'll have to go looking for this in future walks, I've never been away from the immediate environs of the café. Who knows what else I will find?

... I have a little map and apparently this is at a lookout, 830 metres from the café, which they say to allow 30 mins one way to walk. 30 mins for less than a km, half a mile!! I guess that is for the elderly with walking frames. Or maybe people with toddlers who get distracted by every plant and bug. 'Cause that is damn slow.

I settled into the café with my pot of tea and my laptop and suddenly felt exhausted again. My husband has also mentioned fatigue the last few days, and of course my son was home sick the other day, so I think we're all fighting off germs. I feel ok mostly, but tired. I played with my iPhone for a little while and had some tea, then pushed myself to start writing and in the end had a good session. Sometimes it is just a matter of getting started.

I only stopped, really, because after two cups of tea I desperately needed to pee. I can't leave all my stuff on the table so I have to pack up to go to the bathroom and I usually then call it a day. I considered having lunch there and then continuing, but all the foods seemed primarily made of pastry (pies, pizza, quiche) so I came home instead. Another unhealthy food choice avoided!