Coronavirus in Hintonburg: Week Five - Nature is Sanity

So we're well ensconced into the shutdown now and time trudges forward. Unlike some of the chirpy morning show radio hosts or local journalists who make it seem that crafting or "online field trips" can somehow equate to real world activities, I view the current crisis pretty dimly.  It's boring, it's never ending, and for many people, it's physically or economically life threatening.  In other words, not fun at all.

There is one thing that keeps my lil' family going through all this though: walks! Canada isn't as strict as other countries when it comes to walking. We're not in a lock down like other countries where you are only allowed outside for one specific task: grocery shopping or a visit to the pharmacy. Also, Ottawa isn't as dense as bigger cities like Toronto or Montreal. The parks may be closed for playing but there is still lots of forest space to walk through and enjoy.

In fact, because of the light traffic on the roads these days we can get to a lot more walks very quickly from our house - including walks in the relatively deep woods of the greenbelt.

So far we've hit up:

• Fletcher Garden (near the experimental farm)
• Watt's Creek (near where Margot goes horseback riding)
• Shirley's Bay

Letting the day's cares flow away

• Lime Kiln Trail  
• The Jack Pine Trail

Walks bring out great smiles

• The Mer Bleue area
• Pinhey Forest
• The Chipmunk Trail
• Sheila McKee Memorial Park trail
• P3 Trail loop

And these are just the ones within 20 minutes of our house!

Honestly, these daily walks are helping me keep my sanity. Walking through the forest, kicking up leaves, and just listening to the birds makes me feel normal. Maybe the Government will close these trails down eventually but until they do, we're walking!