March 2, 2026

Step-By-Step
Bozeman, Montana
2026
(photo by Connie Blackwood)

On my first trail walk since my heart transplant. I walk a couple of miles every day with little difficulty but I discovered that I was a bit unstable at times walking across rough ground sometimes (where rough is a very relative term in this case, as it could just mean a rough lawn vs. a sidewalk). So we took a short walk on one of the trails up behind our cabin the other day to see how I would do there. I took a walking stick for stability just in case. It went well, other than the fact that I kept being bothered by the fact I was having to be careful walking on trails that I had made myself a few years ago. Recovery progress in this case is literally step-by-step.

As an aside, when I built these trails, I lined them with rocks like are seen in this photo. I thought it was a one and done kind of task but every fall bears wander through the area looking for food, including under long section of the rocks I had so carefully placed. They were not careful at all in replacing them after gleaning whatever grubs, bugs, ants etc. they found underneath them. So there’s another step in my recovery I can attempt to accomplish one of these days.