I got an email recently from a listener named Rachel.

It was a very encouraging email.

As I was reading it through, there was something about it that grabbed my attention.

And as soon as I was finished, I shot Rachel a response, thanking her for her encouragement, and also asking permission if I could use the email, or least part of it, in an upcoming episode.

She said, sure, absolutely.

Rachel lives on a farm in a place that has all four seasons, which is a gracious way of saying winters can be brutal, which she does mention in her email,

temperatures that are usually negative degree wind chills with two-foot snow drifts.

And so to walk in the winter, Rachel has to make some adjustments.

And on those days, when the weather is what I would call hateful, she to walk in the winter, Rachel has to make some adjustments.

And on those days, when the weather is what I would call hateful, she didn't use that term.

Rachel will walk inside, stay inside, stay inside the house and walk.

On those days when the weather is inviting, there's a park near where she lives, and she'll drive to the park and walk in the park. There are also country roads near her home, and she'll walk along those

country roads. And of course, there are elements of those roads that are not always safe, traffic, of course.

She said there are times when dogs who are not being attended to, farm dogs come running after her.

A little unnerving.

But she also, in the midst of all of that, in the midst of all of that,

she mentions walking along these country roads and seeing raccoons, wild turkeys, tractors.

And I think that's where my attention just sort of grabbed a hold of what she was saying,

that picture, that word picture of walking along a country road road.

Initially, I thought the episode when I sent Rachel the email, and I think I even included this in the email, about this wide variety of places that she has to walk.

Inside, when the weather's not good, the state park, these country roads, along her farm.

And I thought that's what this episode was going to be about,

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