“So, Richard. How do you stay in shape when you’re not hiking?”

I keep moving. At my office, I don’t even have a desk chair, since I’m often in the field, and when I’m not, I’m back and forth throughout the building, keeping busy. I really like the slogan Abby had for her employees when she owned Sonic restaurants: “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.”

At home, there’s no lack of things to keep me moving. Particularly during times like these, when summer is rainy and warm, I can always find something to do that will make my back stronger. Last night I mowed until after dark, since the grass was so thick from the drenching rains this month.

One of those rains was stormy enough to blow down several large branches, which combined with the dozens of branches I had cut down as part of regular maintenance. Dorothy’s peach trees, for example, go mostly unattended, so this year the fruit is pulling the branches to the ground, making it nearly impossible to mow around them, so I lop off some of them.

That’s where the real exercise comes in. There is a large brush pile behind the grey barn, so most of the time, I simply grab the branches and drag them down there. It is good work, in the sunshine of late afternoon and evening, and I love it.