One of the things I enjoy about working at home when the weather is nice is taking some of my endless reading for a walk. There's a delightful shady trail along the brook not far from the house. I can walk and read and breathe the air and hear the water and let nature just slowly osmose its way into me.
A few times I took Hy with me. I'd keep him within eyesight once we got to the park but otherwise leave him free to pick berries and toss pebbles as his heart saw fit. We'd park ourselves by every water feature along the way so he could splash or stir up the little fishes or toss rocks into the water or just charge right through to the next outcropping. At the end of one such visit, he discovered that his neon orange shoes were now dirty and told me and everyone about his "brown shoes."
I'd tell him about whatever he was seeing. On one trip he asked his very first question: "What's that?" as a plane flew overhead out of sight and as a chainsaw buzzed near some homes. We talked about them and woodpeckers and trucks driving by and all sorts of things. Wasn't perhaps the most efficient reading environment, but was Time Well Spent. (I would get through 2-3 papers along the way and figure out how to incorporate them, so it's justifiable.)
If I really wanted exercise, I'd cross the bouncy bridge (Hyrum likes the bouncy bridge) and I or Joy, Hy, and I would hike up a gorge trail to a horse ranch at the top and walk around the track looking at the horses. It's really a wonderful way to spend an hour.
So one of the best things about a home office in Ithaca is not being in it.
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