It feels a bit ridiculous to not wrap things up today…BUT, I’m going to stick with my schedule and I’ll recap my final three walks next Monday and share maps of where we’ve all been walking in the world.
On that note, I know where many of you are walking, but please e-mail me or confirm in the comments your walking location(s) in October so I can pull a graphic together (feel free to comment as Anonymous if you prefer to not have a name linked to a specific location).
First up, my last full week of walks:
DAY TWENTY-TWO | 3.26 km
Another “walk-and-talk” with John! He was in Finland this week and we were walking at the same time; he was walking at night and I was walking in the afternoon. Modern transportation is a wonder.
As part of my walk, I stopped by the mailbox and was delighted to find a postcard (and sweet note) from Julie!
DAY TWENTY-THREE | 5.15 km
A sunny day, though the ground was soaked from a torrential rainfall the previous night.
Joy and I walked together and then she stayed at my place while we spread out our planning paraphernalia on my dining room table and worked in tandem on respective planning tasks.
10/10 recommend hosting a planning session with a friend nearby for moral support and to provide a steady stream of jokes.
DAY TWENTY-FOUR | 0.53 km
I walked a loop in my neighbourhood. It was sunny. I have nothing more to say!
DAY TWENTY-FIVE | 1.00 km
I walked exactly 1 km in the section of hallway I was assigned to monitor at a large youth event at our church. I was sent to a tucked-away part of the building, and didn’t see much action. I read a book, answered e-mails, played Would You Rather with a tween girl who preferred to hang out with me instead of going into the fray…I and also walked back and forth until I reached 1 km! (It took me 45 minutes.)
I had to chuckle at the sign outside a pint-sized bathroom for preschoolers (the low sinks SLAY ME!).
DAY TWENTY-SIX | 0.51 km
After driving to New Brunswick, I didn’t have much time before for an evening music event, but my mom was interested in joining me for a short walk…so that’s what we did.
And guess who I spotted? “Charlie” has somehow managed to make his way to New Brunswick.
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN | 0.71 km
It was pouring all day long. POURING. I kept waiting for it to stop (it didn’t). Eventually I put on my boots, grabbed an umbrella, and braved the weather. Would I have walked if I wasn’t trying to keep a perfect streak for the month?
No!
But I did want to maintain my streak…and it ended up being fun to get out in the rain! And even more fun to open the door and rush over to the wood stove to warm up.
DAY TWENTY-EIGHT | 1.0 km + 1.3 km
Brrr. It was cold!
My parents were set to go to “the city” for a doctor’s appointment (in Nova Scotia “the city” = Halifax; in New Brunswick, “the city” = Fredericton, St. John, or Moncton).
We headed off on an early-morning walk.
In the end, the appointment was switched to virtual which saved 3+ hours of driving, plus money for parking and gas. Sometimes technology is wonderful!
To get up the driveway, Dad and I had to move a felled tree out of the way. A fairly common occurrence where they live.
The leaves were all dotted in water droplets from heavy rain the previous evening.
When we got back to the house, I stopped by Mom’s now-dormant garden to check out all the oak leaves stuck to the wire fence. It looked like textured wallpaper from certain angles.
Before our afternoon coffee break, Dad and I went for a short walk. The wind had died down, the sun was back out, and the lake looked beautiful!
PEOPLE JOINING IN FROM AROUND THE WORLD
- Kyria sent a photo teaser from a hike in Europe.
- ccr e-mailed me some photos she captured while walking to the beach in Florida. Look at that crescent moon!
- Kristen went for a walk on one of her days off in Maryland (and drafted a Patreon post in her head)!
- Engie and Hannah took in some beautiful scenes on their late-October walks in Wisconsin. (All sorts of details and pictures here!)
Elinoora was walking in the Netherlands.
- Photo 1: Evening walk with friends.
- Photos 2+3: Is it art? Is it a climbing structure? Did Escher have a hand in this? Yes to all of those, haha. (I asked her about the art project and we discovered it’s called The Elastic Perspective.)
- Photo 4: Trying to get some yoga done…
- Photos 5+6: Leaves, gorgeous leaves!
- Sophie has been walking in Australia and some of those walks have been HOT, HOT, HOT! No more snake skins were spotted, thankfully.
Diane has chosen different themes for her weekly walks in Maryland and this time it was flowers!
- Darlene has been walking in New Brunswick (Canada). She writes: So far your walking challenge has been a lot of fun. Since I walk regularly anyway, I made it my goal to get out of my own neighbourhood a little more. I have two new dog friends—Sugar and McTavish. I’ve also encountered a deer, an eagle, our evening news anchor and the lieutenant governor.
Jana is walking in California:
- Top: Morning light on a walk + deer, a common sight in her yard as she commutes by foot the hundred yards or so to my studio.
- Middle: A neighbour and cat wait for Jana in the mornings at the end of her driveway + I walked around my car many times while washing it; Pippin decided a clean car was against his personal values.
- Bottom: The county left a road sign lying along our street so after a year, I made it useful + sometimes I see peculiar sights in the neighborhood.
- Allison has been walking in Ontario and her summary post is a smorgasboard of delightful pictures of fall foliage and pup Lucy.
- Melissa is walking in Australia, spotting elaborate Halloween decor. After Jana’s recent comment about rattlesnakes, she included the list of poisonous snakes in Melbourne:
- Tiger Snake
- Lowland Copperhead
- White-lipped Snake
- Red Bellied Black Snake
- Small-eyed Snake
- Little Whip Snake
- Eastern Brown Snake
Kyria has been walking in Scotland (and mentioned she also “dipped her toe in England“). Hey, dipping counts! Two countries in one month: Woot, Woot! You really should click through and see all her photo collages of walks from the month. They’re LOVELY!
Suzanne has been walking daily (often with her writing partner) and soaking up the beautiful fall weather. When she moves workouts indoors, cat Leo is happy to play the role of personal trainer.
- By the time this post goes live, Birchie will be FREE OF HER SOUL-SUCKING job. And now she and Doggo will get to the important work of doing lots of wonderful hikes together in Ohio (and beyond). More details and pictures, here.
- mbmom11 writes: I thought you might enjoy the insanity that is yard decorations in my neighborhood. This house has even more than I could fit in two pictures. (Some yards in my town have even more elaborate set-ups.)
- Sarah is up and running early each morning in Wisconsin!
- Julie walked in her neighbourhood, at a protest, and through a local farmer’s market in California!
- SHU spotted a cactus on one of her walks in Florida.
- Lisa and her boys enjoyed walking home from school in Minnesota (though she tells me one brother was crunching leaves too loudly for the other brother’s ears; sibling relationships, aren’t they grand).
- Nicole and Rex are back to their usual routine, walking daily in Kelowna! Thankfully they arrived on the scene after a giant trash crashed down onto the path.
Joy snapped lots of photogenic views (including cows) while walking in Nova Scotia!
Laura and Koda were walking in New York. She writes:
This week’s hike was in the Catskills (the photos are of Alder Lake and of some thick frost on autumn leaves near the mountain summit). I was at my school’s horse farm quite a bit as we hosted a show on Saturday, which went well! There are two bald eagles that nest in a tree near my office, which are fun to watch from fall until spring. Of course, Koda went on her daily walks!
Jacquie is back from Japan! This week she’s been walking in British Columbia. “I saw lots of Halloween displays on my walks this week. I particularly like the one with the wicked witch’s feet and ruby slippers sticking out of the wall!“
And that’s a wrap on Week #4. I’ll be back next Monday with everyone’s final walking pictures and some maps.
Your turn.
- Please leave a comment below or send me an e-mail at: optimisticmusings {at} gmail {dot} com with regard to your location(s), specifying provinces/state for Canada and the US
- How many trick-or-treaters did you get at your door on Friday night?
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Thanks again, Elisabeth, for putting these recaps together. They are amazing. Those Halloween decorations Jaquie saw are certianly nightmare inducing and very imaginative. I walked in Melbourne and The Grampians.
These posts fill me with so much joy! We all live in such beautiful parts of the world!
I especially love your “leaf wallpaper” photo of your mother’s garden. So cool!
I had about 150-200 trick-or-treaters. I still had candy leftover though. ( I’m an overbuyer!).
I’m in downstate Illinois, land of corn, soybeans, and country roads.
I’ll have to see if I have a picture from the last 3 days of walking. We finally have fall colors, so I must have taken some pictures!
Wow – that is a LOT of trick-or-treaters!
Well done for getting out in the rain, Elisabeth! You are right, it’s easier to get things done with a goal in mind – and nothing beats rushing back home to a warm stove!
I love how global this walking project has become, it’s like one big postcard from around the world. Thanks for putting it together!
Wow. It must be a lot of work to put this all together! I love how many people from all over participated. But- I have FAILED! Not only did I not keep up with the walking challenge, but now I have to go over to Engie’s blog and confess that I didn’t get our chapters read for book club this week. I’m not cool anymore! Sob. Oh well- there’s always next time.
You are very cool, Jenny, and a daily mover in so many senses of the word!
I finished the CBBC book ahead of schedule and now forget lots of details, so I’d say I’m hovering at a B- grade?
Jenny – Anyone who runs 50+ mile races is by definition cool! You still deserve the title. I had to reread the section this morning and was remindd why I did not like these characters.
Agreed!!!
Thanks for hosting, Elisabeth! As always it was so fun to see where everyone has been and all the walk pictures!
It’s been great to get outside!
I’m in Ottawa right now and the colours* are absolutely gorgeous right now. I was not expecting the best leaf peeps yet to be in the heart of a big city in early November.
*Spelling adjusted for current location.
A whole sheet of gold stars for adjusting your spelling for Canada. And yay for beautiful foliage!
RETIRED!! I’m happy for you, Birchie!
I’m in Ohio for next week’s pictures/map. We went trick-or-treating with the grandkids, so I don’t know the numbers at their house or ours. In the past, we’d get around 80 kids, but in our old neighborhood, it was more like 140. Sophie’s purple tree is magnificent!!!
Wow – 140! That is A LOT of kids. We’ve never had anything close to that. Maybe a max of 30?
pretty much all of my walks have been in Hollywood FL or Cooper City FL (can just put in Hollywood)!!
And now that it’s getting cold, I am so jealous of your walking route! You are unlikely to see a single flake of snow and, well, I know I would HATE the humidity and heat the rest of the year but…let’s just say I understand why people want to become snowbirds!
Such incredible photos! My favorites are you with the umbrella -I feel like a rainy walk makes it more memorable!, and Joy’s Wolfville sign with the rainbow. It’s extra special to me because, l HAVE BEEN TO THAT SIGN! Which is so so cool.
It was a VERY rainy walk.
I love Joy’s photos!
Wow, the photos are all so gorgeous! That purple flowered tree in Australia is stunning! We do not have any trees like that in my region – but our weather is nothing like Sophie’s!
I managed to walk 30/31 days. I am annoyed I missed one day but it was in the peak time of burn management so I’m giving myself a pass. This challenge came at the perfect time for me!
We had a smaller than usual turnout on Halloween as it was in the upper 30s and drizzling. I only got one trick or treater when I came back at 7 and sent Phil out for another round w/ the boys. We don’t get a ton, though, as we are at the top of the hill and our street dead-ends at our end of the block as across the street there are houses that back up to the creek. So I think people see the hill and think it’s not worth the climb (which I get – it is a very very steep hill).
I am so, so proud of you for walking each day in October and I’m so glad that it served a productive purpose. I wish October hadn’t been such a tough month, but also very glad that amidst all the awful things you were dealing with, you had a healthy outlet <3
Somehow my pictures aren’t displaying – too bad, people will have to click the link!
Gold star for walking in the rain and the hallway to keep up your streak, very impressive! Thanks for this excellent roundup 😊
Darn! I have now fixed it AND I will put this into next week’s summary, but I want to make sure people see this.
The hallway was not a very fun place to walk, but it felt good to “get it done” and I didn’t have anything else to do with the time (I was in charge of directing people but for at least an hour NO ONE was in my part of the building).
It’s so much fun to see all the photos of places people walk! Thank you for hosting the CBWC! (I walked in Montana.) I can’t wait to see the final roundup and the map.
We had zero trick or treaters. And that’s just fine with me!
You know how I feel about Halloween, so zero trick-or-treaters would be fine with me.
Central Calif. and zero trick-or-treaters. There is only one traditionally laid-out neighborhood in our tiny town, and they get bombarded. Or they did, before our town started hollowing out. We don’t have a newspaper anymore, so I’m not sure if trick-or-treating actually happens.
Love these posts, Elisabeth! What a TON of work to put together—thank you!
I think I’d be okay living in a town with no trick-or-treating. My kids…not so much.
Glad you enjoy these posts 🙂
This is so impressive. What a wide world of walkers you’ve inspired. I’m sorry for not sending you photos from my walks. I’m a little disorganized at the moment. Too much going on. I did walk, or run, most days, but I didn’t track things. I took some photos. I’m in a western suburb of Chicago. About 20 miles west of the city.
We didn’t have a ton of trick or treaters, but I really don’t know. I put our candy outside with a sign to take one or two. Coach and I saw a window of time and we took it. Our kids were all off doing things, so we went to do a return for Reg and then got a drink and an appetizer at a bar. We got home at 5:15 pm and there was still some candy in the bowl. The crazy thing is we had no other trick or treaters after 5:15. That seemed nuts, because the weather was nice. I think our neighborhood’s demographics have really shifted.
I love that your folks’ doc appt was shifted to online.
Wow! That is…early. We don’t even start trick-or-treating until 6 pm.
You have A LOT on your plate and I know you exercise almost every day to begin with (more than I can say for myself)!
I’m Caroline Rose and I walk in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I only opened the door six times on Halloween. Not many kids this year!
You’re the first walker I’ve ever had from New Mexico! Very exciting to add a new state to the map! Thanks for joining in.
We left a bowl of candy, but at some point someone drained the bowl (we definitely did NOT have enough trick-or-treaters to legitimately empty it). Oh well!
I LOVED THIS POST. I really enjoy seeing everyone’s pictures, thank you for all of the work putting it together.
Thanks for doing all this! It has been so much fun to see where everyone is walking.
I walked in Texas (14 walks in October! Not even close to every day, but still an acheivement for me), and we had no trick or treaters. We moved this year, so weren’t sure what to expect. Our new neighborhood doesn’t have any sidewalks or street lamps, so I guess people go elsewhere for that.
Yay! Texas is a new state to be represented in the walking club!!
I have said it before and I will say it again, I love looking at all the great fall colors in everyone’s pics (and Halloween photos too!) Even if you don’t do it in April, I hope that you do this again in October next year. Also, your pics and stories about your parents’ place make me miss my parents! And…all the photos are wonderful, but Joy’s photo of the rainbow and the Wolfville sign is really special!
I love that more and more bloggers have a tangible link to the now-iconic Wolfville sign! And it’s a fabulous picture (Joy is a superb photographer).