Zinnia and I had another beautiful walk through the woods and to the lake. It was bone-chilling cold, and I didn’t put on my heavy winter stuff. Can’t get lazy up here.

I did have a bad fall, I got myself out onto an icy slope near the water with bad shoes, fell down on my knees and face. It was one of those ice nightmares, I couldn’t stand up, I fell on the tender knee( broken kneecap a few years ago)  and had some white flashes.

I had to crawl about 30 yards to get to dry ground and stand up. I learned that some years ago when there is a lot of slick ice, best not to try to stand up but to crawl to flatter, drier land if you can.

I’ve ordered hiking shoes with good treads, they are arriving tomorrow or Monday. I used to fall down all the time at my first farm, I’ve gotten lax about it. If there hadn’t been that dry patch, I would have had to call for help.

Zinnia was worried, she rushed over to me whining, licking me and nudging me with her nose, she wanted me to get up. I did get up, it was a long walk back to the car. Ice pack tonight, no Bingo at the Mansion.

But still, it was yet another beautiful walk with Zinnia, who is exploring the world with great joy. She’s got me walking a lot again, which is great and feels good. Today was pretty cold, the sky was raw. I started teaching Zinnia to chase a ball and bring it back to me. She is bringing me closer to nature again.

And I am walking a lot with her, which feels good.

I took a short video. At one point (above) I threw the ball and it skidded and bounced out onto the ice. Zinnia gave chase, slipping and sliding, she kept pushing the ball farther and farther out, but she got ahead of it and slid it back to me. The ice is quite thick, but it makes me nervous to see her go too far out on it.

When I took the video, my mouth was nearly frozen and I sounded incoherent. I was just hustling through it.

It was a short video, but I love watching Zin her run with so much joy. I am loving our walks, a peaceful and nourishing experience for me, and I hope, for her.