Today was our Christmas bird count. I've done the same area close to 50 times. I know the area well as I go through it summer and winter. The bike trail goes through the area.
Today was not a good day . I found ten species but only about 50 birds.
Now the area is a small valley that has a stream running through it. Like most valleys it's variable terrain. Some of the terrain is very rough.
I had been following a game trail that I wanted to leave and go back to the top again. I had to find my own trail which is something I've done all my life. I chose a route to go up and of course some of it's steep. I put my foot on something that was covered with snow but not solid. I started moving backwards and then lost control. So when I was finished I'd done a backward roll and my feet were much higher than my head. So I was proud of myself that I completed a backward roll! Do I hear the applause?
When I stopped my feet were much higher than my head so I had to roll over and get my feet lower than my head before I got up.
A couple of things: I'm happy no one was watching to see this embarrassing situation. And second I thought about the possibility of serious injury. The micro Manager wouldn't miss me for a long time and when she would notice that I hadn't returned, had no idea where I had gone, So reminder to self. Tell people where I'm going.
Anyway, how many of you can do a backward roll and live to tell about it?
Oh my, I bet you are sore from that backward roll. You have a very good recommendation there to tell someone where you are going. Do you have a cell phone? Even if you were unable to call anyone having a cell phone can help people to find you using GPS. Whenever I go out walking I take mine for safety.
ReplyDeleteYep, you are a very agile person! But please don't try and test that too much!
Your last sentence is excellent advice.
DeleteOh my Red, I'm glad to hear there were no broken bones. If you are out alone and no one knows where you are it can be a long time before you are found. So it's a good reminder to yourself for next time you go out. I don't think I've ever done a backward roll, lol.
ReplyDeleteFor me bird counts seem to be dangerous. 28 years ago I broke my wrist while doing the Christmas bird count.
DeleteWow, do be careful. Though I guess now that you have made it so far in life you have done pretty well overall :-)
DeleteBe carefull and tell your wife which way you go an have a mobile phone with you....But my compliments for your elastic moves you made! :)
ReplyDeleteI still haven't got it that there ae some things I should not attempt to do.
DeleteWith a lot of luck. I was careering down a hillside on an off-road track not so long ago when the front wheel sank in a patch of very soft ground, throwing me over the handlebars. I landed on my solar plexus, spreadeagled like a skydiver, and bounced. The moment I bounced, it crossed my mind I hadn't hurt myself. I was OK! (it was a peat moor, which is pretty soft). I felt like a ten-year-old again! I told my doctor this story. He said I was lucky I didn't hit a rock. He fell off his bike on the road and broke his pelvis.
ReplyDeleteI did the bike thing in 2008. I was blinded by the evening sun.
DeleteMy manager always reminds to take my phone with me when I leave the house.
ReplyDeleteGood boy. If you stay on a trail you will be found in a few minutes but I was a way off trail.
DeleteWow, I am glad you were ok. If you were hurt, it would be best to have someone along with you. Take care, have a good day.
ReplyDeleteI have to learn to get more serious about taking precautions.
DeleteWell, I had no idea you were an acrobat. Glad you weren't hurt.
ReplyDeleteMy best fall was uncompleted, so I lose points in your competition. I stepped off a roof on to a ladder only to have the extension ladder begin to collapse under me. I was holding on to the roof and dangling in mid air. I never let go of the ladder. I have no idea why. My shoe fell on my stepson's head below as he tried to push the ladder back and lock it. My husband was on the roof as well, and he sprang over and hauled me up by a belt loop on my jeans. Scared him enough that he yelled at me. You see, I had set the ladder and then went inside to gather some tools. I clambered out a window onto that section of roof. I was the one who neglected to lock the ladder.
I also see that you have some good skills in home maintenance but this would have been scary.
DeleteWell, I am not sure I could do one!! I do believe that your treks have kept you in shape, though, to survive the one you had! I am a follower here, but a rare commenter. Do so enjoy your posts! Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you and thanks for visiting.
DeleteSure glad you were not hurt. I wish somebody had been with you to get some pictures. :-)
ReplyDeleteJohn, I wouldn't want to be embarrassed. I was fortunate and I know it.
DeleteI'm glad you weren't hurt, but congratulations on that roll! And I think I'll pass on trying it myself. :-)
ReplyDeleteSometimes you don't have the choice to pass. I could probably get into trouble if I came hiking with you.
DeleteThat sounds like quite a fall. Really glad you didn't get hurt and still have your good sense of humor. Yes, good idea to let people know where you're headed.
ReplyDeleteThere was snow so I was lucky.
DeleteOh my!! We do have to be careful when out alone. I must be about your age and while I feel like I can handle most anything I have been getting surprised lately that I am no youngster. Thankful you were not hurt.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to realize that I'm old and have lost some physical skills.
DeleteYikes! Be careful out there! Maybe you should get one of those apps on your phone that will tell people where you are -- just in case the micro-manager needs to come and find you.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! I'm one of those people who doesn't have a phone.
DeleteYeah, be careful (although falling on snow always helps!) The tumble I took last July left me with a football-size black-and-blue mark on my thigh that took a good month to go away. We break more easily, and take longer to heal, when we get a little older.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly are more fragile at this age.
DeleteCertainly not me. You're a stellar athlete compared to my physical abilities in that area. I'm 71 but was never very nice to my body, so now I reap the rewards. I thought you were out with a birder group? Also good advice never go bird watching in the wild alone!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of which all the birds in our backyard have gone away. We have only lived here, Texas, 2 winters now, but last year, our first winter, there were still many birds around. I also noticed this last summer almost no bees. Folks around try to make almost golf course-like yards. Do you suppose they are killing the bees with yard poisons?
Nice blog, thanks...I'll see if I'm smart enough to get this posted.
Tom
Thanks for visiting Hiawatha House. Didn't you know that bird counting was a dangerous sport??? Certainly some urban landscaping isn't very attractive to birds. But the song bird population in North America has crashed. Some of my friends spend their winters in Texas and many of them are birders.
DeleteYou poor thing! I'm glad you lived to tell the tale!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the sympathy. There's something dripping off this comment...maybe sarcasm!!!
DeleteGlad you weren't seriously hurt. Definitely tell the micro manager where you are going. You never know what can happen when you're out and about. Take care, Red.
ReplyDeleteIf I stayed on trails I'd be alright but I go through the bush.
DeleteYes, I agree with many of the comments - bring a phone for safety. Glad you weren't hurt!
ReplyDeleteWhen you fall like that your life sort of goes through your mind. Yes I was fortunate.
DeleteOuch!
ReplyDeleteThere wasn't any ouch...just an awkward fall.
DeleteWhoops! All’s well that ends well, they say. Glad you are okay and got a few birds. I haven’t done a backward roll in a very large number of years and I don’t think I’ll be doing one in the future!
ReplyDeleteWell I hadn't intended to do a roll but it happened.
DeleteWell, not me, that's for sure. Since you can, more power to you, but only if you put the phone in your pocket AND tell the other half where you went. Because, sod's law, the phone would have gone downhill faster than you, and land in the creek.
ReplyDeleteI like your comment on the phone.
DeleteTo answer your question, I'm unsure whether or not I could do a backward roll, Red, but glad you did and able to share with us. And, yes, always good to let someone know where you are going.
ReplyDeleteHey , I had trouble doing a backward roll in my prime let alone in my prime eighties.
DeleteYes you are agile! It scares me to even think of taking a fall like that.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit of an awkward roll and the slope wasn't long.
DeleteGlad you were not hurt! I do graceful stuff like that roll often in the winter...:(
ReplyDeleteYou have so MANY comments. I was going to write that I do the counts each week for the Cornell citizen science program. I love my birds. I have not fallen in some time...but at our age it is not pretty
ReplyDeleteOh gosh do be careful and so glad you are more than ok.
ReplyDeleteWith my vertigo I always bring my cellphone and dog with me into the great outdoors !
ReplyDeleteThank goodness you weren't hurt! And yes, always tell someone where you are. That is advice for all of us!
ReplyDelete