How I get my steps in

I think I've mentioned before that I have a FitBit activity tracker, a perk of my part-time job. I've seen articles questioning whether activity trackers actually prompt more activity; I know in my case it certainly does. Take yesterday, for example. It was windy and rained off and on, so I didn't go outside as much as usual. By the end of the day, I hadn't reached my 12,000-step daily goal. So when the nightly news came on, I grabbed my spindle, went to the basement, and walked on the treadmill while watching and spinning. I was going to watch news and spin anyway; why not walk instead of sitting on my patootie? (Did you know sitting is the new smoking?)

Usually I reach my daily goal like this:

After a few steps around the house in the morning, I head outside. I check the garden; sample some produce; start water lines if it's warm and dry.

The rampant weeds distract me, so I start pulling. When my back complains and I feel the pressure of hungry animals, I head down the driveway towards the barn. Flip open the top of the boys' hay feeder on my way by. Stop at the hen house to open the pop door and check food and water levels; throw them some grass and clover I plucked for them on the way down. Walk on to the Ram-ada Inn to pick up one of the two empty feed pans; use the pan to serve up Lance's antihistamine with rice bran pellets. Carry hay to both horses or put on their fly masks and lead them to pasture. Divvy up soaked alfalfa pellets with rice bran and carry to the Ram-ada Inn for Bramble and Nightcap; walk back to get hay and/or water as needed and carry it to the Ram-ada Inn. Carry hay to the ewes and lambs; remove their empty water buckets, scrub, refill, and deliver. Carry hay to the boys in the wooded lot; return to the barn for a small bucket of water to top off their big bucket. Head back to the house; stop by the hen house to collect any eggs. That's usually good for my first 3,000-4,000 steps; I retrace most of those during evening chores. In between I keep moving in various ways, depending on the demands of the day.

One of the current demands is tackling this:

That's our riding arena, growing a green carpet of weeds. Last year to my dismay, Rick sprayed it with RoundUp. Earlier this week he said he was going to do it again, and I begged for a reprieve. I have read enough research results to be convinced of the evils of glyphosate; I don't think being exposed to it can be good for ANY living creature, much less a horse with Inflammatory Airway Disease. Yesterday's rain made conditions perfect for weeding, so in between the cooking and cleaning that is always on Friday's agenda, I filled the manure cart with the tall weeds from two sides and the middle. (The rest is mostly what I call "wireweed;" I'm hoping to recruit Brian to operate the rocker hoe so I can rake it up.)

Today's total: 21,350 steps.

That's the fitness plan at . . .