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Don’t Waste Your Summer Indoors! NATURE’S GOT BETTER PLANS FOR YOU THE LEGAL NAVIGATOR JUNE 2025
Throughout our lives, it can feel like something is calling us to explore the outdoors. You may remember happy moments from your childhood, exploring the woods or playing at a local park. As we entered adulthood, we may have started to explore outdoor physical activities that gave us a greater appreciation for nature, like hiking, biking, or kayaking. Even our golden years involve time spent outdoors, whether birdwatching, practicing photography, or spending time with grandchildren. Nature is magical, and everyone should make a greater effort to spend more time outdoors, regardless of age. Have you ever noticed that your worries start fading as soon as you’re in nature? Anything that bothered us at work or in the real world doesn’t seem to matter as much when surrounded by beautiful flowers, vibrant green trees, and the warmth of nature’s embrace. That’s no illusion; you’re experiencing benefits to your mental health by spending time outside. Symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety become less apparent, and you adopt a greater sense of positivity and happiness. Physical benefits also come with being outside. Spending time outdoors enhances your immunity while giving you higher energy levels. Taking in your natural surroundings can help boost creativity while supporting cognitive function as we age. Those who bask in the sunlight gain more vitamin D, which is incredibly beneficial for older Americans, as it helps strengthen bone health, support immune function, and keep your heart healthy. If you’re participating in physical activity, you gain even more benefits! If you’re struggling to find an outdoor passion, you may need to explore new hobbies or join a group participating in various outdoor activities. If you have a backyard or a patio, you can try gardening. While it won’t necessarily put you out in the great outdoors, it will allow you to spend some time outside, soaking up the sunshine. Plus, you’ll enjoy various fruits and vegetables throughout the year. We all know it tastes better when you grow it yourself!
You may want to add a little more fitness to your outdoor adventures. In that case, consider joining a local group dedicated to hiking, biking, walking, water aerobics, tai chi, or yoga. Not only will you be improving your physical health, but you’ll also socialize with like-minded individuals. Keep your physical condition in mind when investigating each activity or group. You don’t want to try something too rigorous that negatively impacts your joints and knees.
You can also enjoy plenty of relaxing outdoor activities. If you live near a lake, river, or pond, grab a reel and rod so you can go fishing. You may have fond memories of fishing with your parent from childhood, so now’s the time to relive them. You may also enjoy birdwatching at a local park or arboretum.
The outdoors offers countless opportunities to enjoy nature, improve our mental and physical health, and explore our community. So, what are you waiting for? Get outside and enjoy everything nature has to offer!
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Canary in the Coal Mine? THE HIDDEN HEALTH RISKS OF BURNOUT
Do your job or housework leave you feeling burnt out? If so, you aren’t alone. Burnout is a common affliction in our technological age. An estimated 48% of employees and 53% of managers claim they’re burned out, according to a 2022 Microsoft survey of 20,000 workers, and stress levels have worsened since then.
World Health Organization recognizes it as a factor in people’s health. Some doctors use the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a scale measuring a person’s level of exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy, to diagnose burnout. Items include, “I feel emotionally drained by my work.” The symptoms of burnout can serve as the canary in the coal mine — an early warning that overload, overwork, or stress may be on the verge of harming your health. Consider an extended break from work to ease the strain. If your ennui deepens into low self-esteem, guilt, hopelessness, or thoughts of suicide, a vacation or long weekend isn’t likely to help. Clinical depression or anxiety requires different treatment by a therapist or mental health professional. The bottom line: If you’re feeling burned out, it’s time to put on the brakes, check out for a while, and tune in more closely to your overall well-being!
Career-driven people, overworked employees, and working people from all walks of life can experience alienation, extreme exhaustion, loss of meaning, and reduced performance, all hallmarks of burnout. The term was coined in the 1970s to denote the exhaustion often experienced by people in the helping professions. Burnout is not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, the professionals’ guide to diagnostic standards. However, the
WINTER DOWN UNDER Savoring the Off-Season Joys of New Zealand
Few cultural celebrations capture a crowd’s attention faster than an explosive rendition of a Mãori war dance by a New Zealand sports team. The world’s growing fascination with Mãori culture is one reason travel to New Zealand is soaring, boosting annual tourism spending by nearly 15% last year. While it’s winter there now, the island nation still offers many off-season attractions for the savvy traveler — including the June 19–22 celebration of Matariki, the Mãori New Year. Here are a few others. Skiing and Snowboarding June through October is peak season on New Zealand’s world-class skiing and snowboarding hills. Book accommodations in popular winter sports areas on the South Island, such as Queenstown and Wanaka.
Warm up après-ski with a pint of one of New Zealand’s famous craft beers. Hundreds of the nation’s diverse brews will be displayed at Beervana, a popular two-day festival on Aug. 22– 23 in Wellington. Exploring Coastal Trails Hiking through New Zealand’s stunning coastline and ancient forests — or tramping, as the locals call it — is a major attraction. Many of New Zealand’s Great Walks are on alpine or subalpine tracks and are impassable in winter. But the country’s most popular Great Walk, the Abel Tasman Coast Track, extends 37 miles one way across warmer terrain, past golden beaches and lush native vegetation. This trek offers ample opportunity to enjoy some of the many exotic birds of New Zealand, home
to more avian species than any other country in the world.
Nature Shows Nearly half of the world’s whale species are in New Zealand’s vast marine territory. Giant sperm whales can be seen year- round, and humpback and southern right whales are visible from shore from May through September. If you’re a fan of nighttime lights, stargazing at such celebrated dark- sky sites as Great Barrier Island and Mackenzie Region on South Island will amaze you. And for a different kind of evening light, try touring New Zealand’s caves or grottos for a glimpse of exotic glow worms, a native insect that glows blue-green in the dark!
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A HISTORIC TINY HOME BUILT ON SPITE Tiny homes may be all the rage for TRAFFIC STOPPER
dwelling is squeezed in so tightly that its neighbors’ exterior walls serve as its interior. Its 25-by-7-foot area is spread over two floors, producing a total floor space of 325 square feet. The little home is comfy enough that one couple lived there for 25 years. Its most recent owner bought it in 1990 for $130,000 and used it occasionally. The Spite House at 523 Queen St. is Alexandria’s best-known tiny home, but it isn’t the only one. Three other tiny houses, all 1–3 feet wider, were also built in alleys during the 19th century. This may seem like a cheap way to build since all that is needed is a roof and rear and front walls. Nevertheless, based on the latest available sales data from 2014, one of these alley houses sold for a cool $424,000!
budget-conscious house hunters these days. But none has as engaging a history as the diminutive Alexandria Spite House in Virginia. Brickmaker John Hollensbury built this 7-foot-wide rowhouse nearly 200 years ago — not to live in, but to fill up the alley next to his splendid two-story brick home in what is now the Old Town district of Alexandria. Hollensbury was bothered by horse-drawn carriages trying to squeeze through the alley, scraping against the brick walls of his and his neighbor’s houses, and loiterers gathering in the area. Hollensbury decided to close the alley forever by building a house in it — not to create living space, but to block the alley — thus its name, the Spite House. The little
TAKE A BREAK
Teriyaki Beef Skewers Inspired by AllRecipes.com
Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar • 1 cup soy sauce • 1/2 cup pineapple juice (optional) • 1/2 cup water • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped • 4 lbs boneless round steak, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices • Bamboo skewers soaked in water
Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, water, vegetable oil, and garlic together. Drop beef slices into the mixture and stir to coat. 2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in a refrigerator for 24 hours. 3. Remove beef from marinade, shaking to remove excess liquid. 4. Thread beef slices on skewers in a zig-zag pattern. 5. Preheat grill to medium heat and lightly oil the grate. 6. Cook beef skewers for about 3 minutes per side until the meat is cooked through.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Nature Has Something for Everyone — Including You
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How Burnout Can Signal Depression Mãori Culture and More: Discover the Magic of New Zealand
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The House That Spite Built Teriyaki Beef Skewers
Hero Hound Saves Owner 4 LOYALTY RUNS DEEP Gita’s Heroic Dash to Save Her Owner
The bonds we develop with our pets are unlike any other we experience. They depend on us for their every want and need, and we often give them whatever they ask for! We know they would do the same for us if the roles were reversed. As the years pass, that bond deepens, making us inseparable from our furry friends. Many of us have felt despair when we imagine life without our trusty dog, cat, or other pet. It turns out that some animals feel the same and will do everything in their power to protect their owner if tragedy occurs. An 84-year-old man in Washington state woke up one morning to the sound of his glucose machine telling him his blood sugar was too low. As he headed toward the fridge, he noticed his 13-year-old dog, Gita, wanted to go outside. Shortly after being let out, Gita took off toward the woods, and her owner followed in pursuit. After traveling 20–30 feet, the man turned around to head back home when dizziness overcame him. He fell to the ground, broke his hip, and immediately started shouting for help. Gita remained by her owner’s side for some time before realizing nobody would hear him in the secluded woods. She
jumped into action, heading toward a well-traveled street, where she encountered a sheriff’s deputy. The deputy tried to get the dog in his vehicle to no avail, so he surveyed the surrounding area to find Gita’s owner.
The deputy could not locate the owner but still felt something was wrong, so he turned his attention back to Gita. The two locked eyes before Gita stood up and ran toward an unmarked side street. Gita led the deputy directly to her owner before any more harm could come to him. After the event, the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office posted “Hero Dog Saves Owner” and their account of the story on Facebook. Gita certainly proved her loyalty and bravery that day!
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