WW* Celebrate National Take the Stairs Day! (*Wednesday's Wisdom)

It has come to my attention (from Holiday Insights AKA HI) as well as from a good number of organizations that relate to keeping healthy (including The American Lung Association) the Second Wednesday of January (which is today) is National Take The Stairs Day.

HI states, "The primary goal of this special day, is to encourage you and me to improve our health, by leaving the elevator behind, and walking up the stairs.Walking up and down stairs, instead of using of the elevator or escalator, is a non-impact activity that most of us can do. It helps us tone our muscles, maintain or even lose weight, and contribute to cardio-vascular health."

They go on to announce the fact that "A 160 pound person who climbs for three minutes, expends approximately thirty calories (and) most smartphones have an app that counts stairs. If you phone does not have it, you can download a stair counting app."

I don't have a smart phone but if I have the need to know how many stairs I climbed, I do know how to count, as do a number of people whom I know, including my mother, who upon her first occasion visited me in the apartment I have now, counted the stairs leading from the ground floor of the building where I live to my place.

The last flight can be seen in the image atop this entry (where the black arrow (affixed to the photo at the left indicates the entrance to my home and the white arrow indicates the access to the building's rooftop).

From the rooftop, one can have an aerial view of my garden as evidenced in the series of images (taken by Juan V in by gone years and one taken by David Denny this past December).

I have also gone up on the rooftop to take aerial views of my garden and some of my results can be seen in the next set of pictures.

My rooftop garden is not only a source of refreshment for myself and for anyone who visits it, (including a number of members from the avian community), it is the setting for my book series, Words In Our Beak.

MY BOOK SERIES

Words In Our Beak’s goal is to open readers to a simple understanding of the winged world and their environment. My story is told in the voice of Cam, a female cardinal, who visits it. Words In Our Beak is directed to children and adults who are curious about birds, and want to learn about them from a unique perspective. The book includes hundreds of images of flora and fauna, links to movies, as well as to informative narratives that have been created by the author.

In my enthusiasm over my garden and the birds who visit it, I've digressed a bit from the fact that today is National Take the Stairs Day and while the stairs you take may not lead to beautiful garden views, they will lead you to enjoy the health benefits of taking the stairs.