I am a nurse.  I am proud to be a nurse.  I have been a nurse for 29 years.  For those who may not know, as a nurse, even when you are no longer working a “real job”, you are still a nurse.  My career was a remarkable journey and I am grateful for every job I had along the way.

Yesterday was not a “gym day”, but that does not mean I took a day off from training.  Given the weather was a bit unpredictable, I decided against a riding my bike as I did not feel like getting caught in the rain far from home.  I settled for a “run around the block”.  As we live in the country, my run around the block is a dirt road loop of just over three miles.  I jogged the first mile without a break, did the second mile with two “walk breaks”, and the third was a series of intervals of 30 seconds run, 30 seconds walk.  It was a not a great run, but it served to provide an adequate cardio workout for the day.

It has been a flurry of activity with the weather as it has been.  Warm and dry.  I love spending time outside.  This past week there has certainly been much to do, and keeping the grass mowed has been a chore.  First, the push-mower gets a workout mowing all around the house, and trimming the grass around the trees.  Then, I ride the big mower around the yard, getting time to sit and take it my surroundings as I steer around the two-plus acre plot.

Although the weather has been a bit unpredictable, overall the temperatures have been warm and welcoming.  After a bit of a cool, wet spring, the end of the season has allowed things to dry out a bit.  The grass is growing, the trees are green, and the underbrush in the woods surrounding the house has grown up and become a bustle of activity with squirrels, rabbits, and chipmunks (to the delight of the barn cats). 

I have spent most of the past few days in the dirt.  Literally.  For me, working in the dirt is a labor of love.