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Wounded Duck, this picture is for you ... part of a continuing slow effort to catch up on posts from past days when walks happened but writing didn't.  This one is from March 12, 2015 ...

Mile 232.  Tortoise did a quick walk this morning while waiting for an oil change by his friends at Roadrunner Auto Repair.     Walking thought is by Sheldon Child ...

Cheerio!

Tortoise completed today's 2.34 mile walk in 44:14 minutes.  Tortoise rating was 5.4, based on 79 feet climbed in the 1.17 mile uphill portion (average elevation 3233).  343 calories were burned along the way.

And here are the overall stats so far for 2015:

232.00 miles walked, which is 23.15% of Lou's 2015 goal. On this day in 2014, Tortoise had walked 205.62 year-to-date miles.  

67:41:09 hours walked, which is 21.62% of the 2015 goal (which is to walk 1 hour a day on the 313 days other than Sunday in the year)

11,890 total feet climbed, compared with 10,463 feet on this day in 2014.  

34,947 calories burned

19.49% of the year has passed

Lou has walked 69 consecutive non-Sundays since his last missed day on December 22, and overall has walked on 359 of the 374 non-Sundays since the beginning of 2014, a 95.99% consistency rating.

The purpose of the percentages is to have a higher percentage of distance and time walked than of the year. This tells Tortoise that he is on track. Yes, this is more numbers than you are likely interested in, all Tortoise can say is he's really good at setting high goals and having them slip away because he doesn't do them every, every day.  (If you doubt this, compare Tortoise's 2013 walking record with 2014)

And now for today's walking thought, initially presented in April 1997:

"I remember on one occasion one of the items on the list was to take a small broken part from our hay rake to the blacksmith shop to have it repaired. I was uncomfortable about going. My father hadn’t left any money, and I wondered what I should do. I put off going as long as I could. When all my other chores were finished, I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer. Father expected the broken part to be repaired when he came home, and it was my responsibility to see that it was done.

"I can still remember walking the mile or so to the blacksmith shop. I even remember how uncomfortable I was as I watched him weld the part. As he finished, I nervously told him that I had no money, but that my father would pay him later. I’m sure he sensed my anxiety. He patted me on the shoulder and said, “Son, don’t worry, your father’s word is as good as his bond.” I remember running all the way home, relieved that the part had been repaired and grateful that my father was known as a man whose word was as good as his bond.

"As a boy I didn’t fully understand what that meant, but I knew it was good and something to be desired. It was years later that I recognized that a person whose word is as good as his bond is a person of honesty and integrity, a person to be trusted. In today’s world, there are some who think nothing of breaking their word, their promises, their covenants with man and with God. What a blessing it is to deal with those whom we can trust."

To watch, listen to, or read this message in full, please visit

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/04/as-good-as-our-bond?lang=eng #ShareGoodness

The tortoise is smiling!