Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Spending time in nature is one of my non-bookish hobbies. My idea of a good time is taking a walk in the woods, by the beach, or in some other natural setting where I can let the sounds of birds tweeting and leaves rustling wash over me.
This is how serene and beautiful our forests are during the summer. (Yes, I took this photo). We have been seeing more ticks, including some that carry Lyme disease, in Ontario, so I always stick to the trails when I walk through our forests and check for ticks afterwards.
Taking a few precautions like this one is well worth the time I get to spend out in nature. There is nothing like noticing a rabbit, squirrel, or some other small creature hiding beneath a nearby bush and realizing it’s waiting to see how you behave before it decides when to run away.
I like to pretend like I haven’t seen them and keep walking on by. Sometimes they decide to stay hidden , while in other cases they suddenly scamper away in a flurry of motion.
The books on today’s list are a nice mixture of practical medical advice for outdoor adventures and ones that explore the many advantages of getting some exercise outdoors while the weather is warm and nice. I have read all of them and would recommend all of them. (Well, I actually read a similar first aid book that I couldn’t find online anymore. But close enough).
CPR, AED & First Aid Provider Handbook by Karl Disque
1. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss
The Hidden Life of Trees: what they feel, how they communicate : discoveries from a secret world by Peter Wohlleben
Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery
Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks
Yes, that final title does talk about zombies, but the advice in it is wholly practical and can be used for all sorts of survival situations. I’ve even found it useful for more ordinary troubles like dealing with days when I’m feeling out of sorts and need to comfort myself.
I hope this list has encouraged you to spend time outdoors this summer if you can and if you’re interested. It’s a wonderful way to spend the summer in my opinion.
My youngest brother was about two or three then, so sometimes he’d need a parent to carry him if we walked for a long distance. But the important thing was that we were together and we got to explore rocks that felt impossible large to me as a child.
*Although I haven’t done either of these in a long time and definitely would need to recondition my body for them. That is to say, let’s pick the easiest versions of these things if you want to do them with me.
This post is the final instalment of a four-part series I’ve been slowly working on about walking during each season of the year. Click on the links in this sentence to read about the things I love about 
While I mentioned something pretty similar to this in my post about spring hikes, but it bears repeating again for this season. There are always some people walking around in my area, but you definitely see fewer of them on cold days.
The months between April and November are filled with changes in the natural world here in southern Ontario. I revel in every change I see as plants sprout leaves, flowers bloom, or the first trees began to change colours for the season.
A year or two ago, I noticed that the temperatures were a bit cooler one August morning than they’d been that previous week. I decided to set out for a walk before the true heat of the day set in.
It’s time for the third instalment in my series about hiking – or, in this case, strolling – during the various seasons. If you’re a new reader or would like to reread my previous posts, I’ve also written about the things I love about 
Sunset in Toronto generally happens between 5 and 6 pm in the winter. During the summer, sunset is at about 9 pm. When you combine those extra hours of daylight with evening weather that feels like 25 C (77 F) instead of -25 C (-13 F) after the sun goes down, it’s no wonder that summer evenings can be such pleasant times to walk.
Yes, I know I mentioned my love of peace and quiet when I talked about spring hikes earlier this year. The interesting thing about walking during the summer is how noisy it can be!
One of the coolest and least intuitive things living in a city as large as Toronto is how often you tend to run into the same people over and over again. You’d think this would be rare given the fact that millions of people live here, but it’s really not!
Signs of spring are popping up everywhere now here in Ontario. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed the photos I’ve been 
Toronto almost feels like an entirely different city in each of its four seasons. Things grow quieter here in the winter, especially once all of the December holidays have ended.
After spending the last several months exercising indoors due to a mixture of weather and 
As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, spring is my favourite season of the year. Winter is cold, snowy, drab, and long here, so it’s always a relief when the temperatures rise and I begin seeing bright splashes of colour on the landscape again after the flowers begin blooming.
This autumn has been an odd one so far here in Ontario as climate change continues to disrupt our normal weather patterns.
Some of the trees in my neighbourhood have begun to change colour. Once the weather cools down enough for other species to join them, the landscape changes quickly as other trees follow in their footsteps. At some point, all of the non-evergreen
There’s a huge difference between exercising to a pre-recorded video indoors on a cold winter day and getting to explore the world around you when the weather is more agreeable.