I missed going forest bathing this weekend. Stuff happens. Mostly stuff that involves laundry and blogging. My work week is as busy as ever, if not busier. My husband noted the other day that I’m probably working more since I’ve been working at home.

Since my commute is only from my living room couch to my bedroom office, I definitely start work earlier. Back when I had to drive to my office, work wouldn’t start until:

• I drove 25-30 minutes to my building,
• parked the car and walked half a block,
• got into the building,
• walked up the stairs and down the hall,
• turned on my computer,
• gone to the ladies’ room,
• filled my water bottle and my kettle,
• put the kettle on for tea,
• logged into my computer,
• pulled out my peanut-butter-on-toast breakfast,
• steeped the before-mentioned tea,
• and opened Outlook.

Thanks to my current commute, most of those steps are omitted. So work starts earlier and now ends later too with documentation to complete at the end of each day. Plus, I often find myself thinking, “Oh, I’ll just respond to this one last email before I close out.” or “Oops, I need to put a reminder on that task.” or “While I’m still logged in, let me do just one more thing.” When I worked in a building that was nine miles away, I rarely had a problem leaving on time. I need to work on that.

Last weekend, we did engage in some forest bathing. Actually it was a double win since the forest includes a swamp.

Although my husband and I have been to this particular park numerous times over the last 30 years, new entrances and trails have been added.

A couple of days before, a fierce storm including a tornado came through this area.

Trail crews had been out after the storm, taping off areas that were dangerous. For the most part, the trees were left where they fell and we easily navigated around them. Still, it gave me a thrill to imagine a storm so intense it could bring down these impressive trees.

But didn’t I promise you a swamp?

Yes, indeed, you can’t have Florida forest bathing without a swamp. The afternoon light was perfect, giving this swamp an ethereal feel. I half expected fairies to peek out from the trees. My husband said the only thing missing was a water moccasin but that was fine with me.

As much as I love the varied hues of green, I always look for and often find a bit of color.

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I’m so glad you came along with me on this virtual revisiting of a favorite hike.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! Here’s your reward:

Wendy says, “Talk to the paw!”

Postscript: The next couple of weeks might be a bit intense for me (understatement). My supervisor is retiring after 30+ years with the department, and she has nine work days left. Nine work days left for me and the rest of the staff to mind-meld with her … I wish (where is Mr. Spock when you need him). The day after her last day, I’m supposed to be appointed to her position and start acting like I know things. (Keep in mind, I work for a bureaucracy so anything or nothing can happen.)

On the surface this will appear to be a promotion but it’s really just a necessary restructuring of our little section. No, I’m not being falsely modest. The plan is to maintain continuity while we “grow” our section and provide more opportunities for our (relatively) younger, brighter and more ambitious staff.

My point in saying writing all this is just to let you know what’s up with me.

Bonus!

Junior’s opinion of my upcoming new position.