New Fish Bowl - Twice Over

Remember those posts from a few years ago where I would reflect on the entertaining things happening outside my living room window in the Biggest Little City?  Well they're back, but from two new locations, my office window and the new living room window, neither of which are in the Biggest Little City or Big Sky for that matter. 

My fish bowl view has shrunk, but oddly enough offers more entertainment and head shaking opportunities. The office fish bowl looks out over the local fire department lot and has proven to be a consistent source of entertainment for me. Example: 

Firemen playing with their hoses - no its not what you're thinking - they were running equipment tests where they hook up the hoses and then water the lawn with them. In between watering sessions they proceeded to sun themselves (if only they'd remove their shirts for this part). These events have become routine for Thursday afternoons and on Thursday evenings. Right around quitting time for the working Joes the firemen roll their chairs out to front of the station which located along the main drag in busting Hillsborough and waive good evening to the passerbys - it is great fun for them and entertaining for the rest of us. 

The at home viewing options are a bit more limited to views of the neighborhood dogs taking themselves for a walk up and down the road and amazing lightning storms. Watching the lighting through the front window is better than television sometimes, especially when the strikes are close to the house. 

We'll see what adventures will pass by the fish bowls and if they are noteworthy, you'll find them here.

The Sidewalk

Today was one of those days where Spring flirts with you. She uses the blue skies and warmer temperatures to lure you outside and enjoy the idea of a new season. It was also an day for escaping the afternoon office grind by walking to the local coffee shop to enjoy a beverage and a book for the lunch time break.

As I sat outside reading the pages of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, the sun warmed my back and sounds of the streetscape and sidewalk life got me thinking about all the sounds that we drown out during the day and the sounds that are no longer common in our communities.

Take for instance the sound of bells, the resonant, crisp, clear ring or dong of a bell is rarely if ever heard in our community. Granted this is a community with two clock towers, one at the county courthouse and one at the university, but their bells are silent, excluding the automated chiming of the time. The sound I refer to is the ringing of bells for events like weddings or other special occasions. Think Quasimodo in the tower ring the actual domed structure of a bell ringing. Even the sound of wind chimes is absent.

For all the noise that we encounter on a daily basis, the communal sounds of people in the streets, bells, dogs, vendors, etc, we live in a pretty quite environment. I suppose today was one of those days that permitted a pause in the day to day routine of work that allowed me to think and be outside. Take note of the sounds you hear and don't hear and see what you find and what is missing.

My Morning Run - Really Evening Run

Officially these runs are really evening runs, at least for the time being due to my inability to haul my sleepy butt out of bed in the morning. This lack of morning motivation may be a result of the dismal winter weather that we get here in the banana belt of Montana - oh yeah and the lack of morning sun. This winter has been a bust - little to no snow, rain that turns to ice and freezing temperatures that turn working pipes into non-working pipes.

But I digress; the point of this particular blog post is to hopefully keep me motivated. Since I moved to Big Sky country the running has been hit and miss, mostly miss, due to the fact that I work an office job. Who knew that sitting under florescent lights and staring at a computer screen all day would zap all your energy? Add to this fact that for the last year I have been battling the completion of a thesis that left very little time for actual physical exercise.

Now that the thesis is complete and the days are getting longer, motivation is slowly returning to jiggle jog my way to health. I started last night with a two-mile run (20 minutes totally) on the treadmill of wonder. Updates to follow and hey by all means, jump on the bandwagon of motivation.