Day 1. A Walk in the Park. 100 Days of POGs

Before I found the #100HappyDays challenge, I had already been mulling over the idea of taking a photo a day of something I am grateful for. I have been battling depression off & on for years–more “on” in the last year. Writing a daily list of gratitude was not helping. A few days ago, while walking my dogs in the park, I noticed the vibrant blossoms of yellow, red & purple on the desert trees and bushes. My spirits lifted a little. Why not take a picture to remind myself of the beauty? The next day, I took some pics of the flowers. Then my dogs. Why not post one? I did [View on Instagram]. Why not post one every day? Why not post them for 100 days, just like the daily gratitudes I have seen online from friends and family?

I came home from my walk & Googled “100 Days”. I hadn’t realized there was a real campaign out there on the internet!  But I was not surprised. I signed up immediately.

So I will start now.  Today’s POG is the park where I walk my dogs. After living 40 yrs in a tree-lined neighborhood of a beach city where I could walk 2-3 miles/day with my dogs, I moved to an area where yards have no city parkways. (Isn’t that the name of the grassy area between the street and the sidewalk?) Houses have xeroscape–primarily rocky ground cover, a boulder or two, a few short bushes.  There is NO shade to protect the dogs’ feet from the heat of the concrete. Every morning I drive them to a beautiful park where I greet other walkers–with and without dogs. I enjoy seeing a man doing Tai Chi under the pavilion. Young children with parents/grandparents/babysitters enjoy the playgrounds. I say hello to the dogs in the back yards along one side of the park.  They know us now so they wag their tails instead of barking frantically. I love the mornings filled with the sound of songbirds. On the days when the mowers are too loud to hear the birds, I love the smell of the fresh cut grass. Weekends bring Little League games to the ballpark in the far corner.

Occasionally, my 10-year-old German Shepherd will unexpectedly flop down onto the cool grass, roll onto his back, stop, belly up, then sigh with pure joy.  I know exactly how he feels.

Pictures Of Gratitude. POGs! Have you Pogged lately?