The Following is For Reference Only.
As we reach the last weekend of February, it's pretty clear to me that this walking year is not going to plan, even with the restrictions that the Post-Covid Experience has brought upon it, as there's nothing happening at present which is inspiring me to challenge my body against the chill of the Wintery temperatures that have persisted for the whole month, as my lack of energy can't seem to fire itself up when greyness persists, and when it is bright it's also freezing cold, and the desire to keep out of the cold that keeps us immobile through December and January persists when we should be feeling the need to be active. The bitter truth is that my internal motivation has completely collapsed, as my brain resolutely fails to focus on the idea of walking, as there's no will at all to start planning for where the year might lead me, 'To The East' being to sole generic sum of it at present, with only the last pair of walks planned for last year sitting on the slate at the moment, as I'm not of a mindset to get plotting again, having not been so for the entirety of the dark season, and that also extends to not being ready to get going at the start of any weekend, as I really need my Saturday morning lies-in after my regular working weeks. At least I do seem to have sufficient energy to get up as normal on weekdays, despite being in the grip of a sleep debt that seems to have worsened throughout the Dark Season (which seems like a rather counter-intuitive development), and I have enough drive to go through the morning routines when called on to do so, and to power myself across the LTH Trust sites as my managers decide which hospital I might be most useful, but I'm otherwise dead to the world once I get home, meaning that useful housework, and other fun projects can only be approached when energy levels allow for it, and that means the weekends. This has been the case for these last pair of days, with the gloom meaning I'll be not venturing any further than Morley Morrisons, and the laundry and kitchen work will be otherwise be keeping me busy for the duration, having previously expended energy on acquiring, assembling and fitting out a new Ikea cabinet to display my extensive collection of classic Space Lego (a passion of mine that I don't think I've ever mentioned here, but is out of the bag now), labours which extended from long week NIW and perhaps gave me the best indication of just how little stamina I seem to have left in me at present.
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| Being a Weirdo Obsessive does not equal Being an Obsessive Weirdo. |
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| Ikea Packaging works Very Well for Display Purposes. |
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| More Legacy Money Well Spent, If You Ask Me. |
Honestly, I probably feel worse now than I did back in November, when overcoming my Covid infection seemed like something of a breeze, and while my work managers still express concern for well-being and direct me towards the appropriate support groups, I'm not quite ready to claim this as a case of Long Covid just, not least until we're out of Winter and can feel the warmth of the Spring sunshine on our skin, which we won't be getting until the long Easter weekend at the earliest, and thus we can look to March following a similar sort of path, as we await warmer, and brighter weather which is probably still six weeks distant. The only reason to want to spend any time out of doors in the darkness and chill at this time of year, with the cold air oppressing your lungs and feet freezing in the damp grass, is to engage in my still-burgeoning hobby of staring at the sky, and after a disappointing January, where cloud obscured the conjunction of Venus and Saturn, and two very close approaches of the Moon and Mars, we didn't see much of an improvement in February as we were presented with only two decent night for star-gazing (really planet-watching, in my case), as we looked to see the rising Venus and declining Jupiter move together ahead of a conjunction next month. It's also an opportunity to find a good sight line to the west that isn't too far from home, conveniently found on Station Road Rec, which is just dark and elevated enough to provide a viewing spot on the 15th and 23rd to see the planets moving into the same part of the sky during to gathering darkness of the post-work hours of the evening, with cloud annoyingly not giving us a view of them both clustered with the waxing crescent moon on the 22nd, but clearly demonstrating the trio strung out high across the sky on the day after, with my viewing aided by a new pair of binoculars which a family friend, Mr KH, very kindly donated to me.
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| The declining Jupiter and ascending Venus. 15/02 |
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| Jupiter and Venus above Troy Hill. 15/02 |
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| The waxing crescent Moon, Jupiter and Venus. 23/02 |
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| Moon, Jupiter and Venus, from Station Road Rec. 23/02 |
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| The trio above Troy Hill. 23/02 |
So that's where we find ourselves at the end of the first month of Season 12. five excursions in with barely a dozen miles on the clock when the 6,000 miles marker sits so tantalisingly close, but probably won't be approached for a while yet as we look to tune ourselves up further in March, and that's why I'm not going to be sharing a statement of intent for the year, as I don't honestly have one to make, as marking targets that won't be attained is only setting me up for failure, and as we've seen so far in 2023, getting the mind going again is likely to prove as challenging as overcoming the fatigue and diminished stamina that have blighted it so far.
2023 Total: 12.7 miles
Up Country Total: 5,454.2 miles
Solo Total: 5599.3 miles
5,000 in my 40s Total: 4524.7 miles
Next Up: Travelling to the West Pennines for the First Time in Forever.
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