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09/09/07
An early morning walk
06/09/07
09 September 2007
19:23:00 o'clock BST
Feeling Happy
On Friday morning, I awoke at first light and when I when down stairs to look out over our garden, I noticed that there was a Cockerel crowing in the distance. The weather did not look too bad so I decided to see if I could get out of the house in double quick time.
I had not travelled far when a lucky black cat ran out in front of the car and my intuitions told me that I was going to have a wonderful walk.
My journey out, down bending and twisting leafy lanes, was devoid of traffic and instead of speeding up, to get to my destination quicker, I slowed the vehicle, wound down the window and drank in the clear dank morning air.
I ran into a thick low mist that kept fogging up the car's windscreen, from the outside, and when I reached my destination, the same fog hung and hugged the fields like a scene out of a horror film set.
Although it was cold, it did not bother me for I was dressed in my winter coat. Some people do not seem to be phased by the cold and, before I had gathered my thoughts and got out of the car, another vehicle pulled into the car park and when the driver pulled himself out of the, how can I say it, scrap car, he was only wearing a short sleeved shirt and a pair of Shorts. I wondered, while he was out walking his dog, if the man was going out jogging but he was not a young man and I dismissed this idea and thought that he must, as he was getting ready to take the dog out, misjudged how cold it was going to be.
When I began to walk, I was surprised to see that fishermen had bet me to it for they were already set up and casting their lines in the hope of catching an unsuspecting early morning feeding fish.
I stopped for a moment, to make a few notes, and when I looked up the mist came in thick and it's cold dankness momentarily stopped my pen from working.
When I first arrived at the site, grazing cows and sheep seemed to be more tolerant of each other for they were all close together. Now, fifteen minutes later, the hurd and the sheep were evenly spaced out and eagerly taking sustenance from the already brown tinged damp grassland.
Woodpigions and Crows were eagerly feeding at the sides of the lanes and could not care less about me being close to them as they foraged for food. Robins were trilling and many other tree perching birds were twittering and calling; it was as is the whole bird population was coming alive at once.
I was about to walk off into the woods when I remembered how wet the morning dew was and, so as not to get wet, I walked on into an area where there were dry and stable footpaths.
In front of me, the sun was just breaking over the tops of the conifer trees and when I came to my first lake, it was as calm as a mill pond. There was no water lappage and it was very quiet and tranquil for me, as I looked out over water, to see colouration that would have done any of my water colour painting trials justice.
Close to where I was standing, a Heron stood motionless looking out over water that did not have a ripple on it. The Heron, still dry, was looking for its first catch of the day as it stood, like a sentinel, and I imagined that it was looking into the water to see where it could make it's first catch,
To my left, from a shrub that I could have touched if I had been inclined to stretch out my hand, summer visitors, such as Chiffchaffs, called and a family party of Long Tailed Tits joined them while lethargic feeding geese grazed to my right.
Although I could easily see Great Crested Grebes and Swans out on the calm water, the mist made it difficult to see anything else and I decided to turn away and make my way towards the wooded areas.
Before moving on, a Twitcher came to the site (a person that goes out birdwatching to see rare birds so that they can add them to their bird sighting numbers.)
In his haste to be the first person to see what birds were on the site, he overlooked the obvious and also frightened off the Heron. If he had been quiet and had a slower pace, he would have been able to see all the local birds that were on site.
I decided to stand quiet for a few more minutes, while the Twitcher was out of my way and, only inches away from me, now that I was close to a tree, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers flitted from branch to branch and disregarded my presence.
The newcomer, to the scene, soon upset the equilibrium of the site and I decided to move on.
To my amazement, when I walked to a path that was straight and allowed me to see ahead of me, I saw the Twitcher marching along as if there was not a moment to spare.
I felt the need to distance myself from the man and stopped at the side of a clump of shrubs. In the centre of one of the shrubs, there was a one note call, from a bird that I did not know, and I stayed, for a while, to listen but a passing dog walker disturbed the bird so I moved on.
I noted that some of the exposed shrub's leaves were already turning brown which was a sure sign that colder mornings were just round the corner.
At about 7.30 am, now with the sun warming the air and burning off the fog banks, I made my way down a wooded lane where squirrels and rabbits bounded around in front of me. A pheasant called, in the distance, and I heard my first barking dog of the day.
I came to a clearing where I saw a large field that was, only three weeks ago, still in full crop. Today, the crop had gone, the soil had been re seeded and tilled ready for the next growth to come through. Now that there was no crop to hinder the view, the panoramics had completely changed.
When I moved on more rabbits scampered around as if unaware that I was close by.
I moved to a high spot and in front of me there were open grassed fields and wooded areas as far as the eye could see.
There wasn't a cloud in the azure blue sky and, as the rising sun's heat gathered pace, different nasal senses wafted on the breeze.
Dead grasses and Brackens were drying out and flowers, we gardeners call weeds, were also giving off their scents.
While I breathed in the wonderful smells, I took in a deep breath and also closed my eyes. For a brief moment, I was in a dream like state but was soon brought back to reality after being startled by the raucous sound of a restless Jay that momentarily dropped in a tree close to where I was standing.
In the distance, a haze, we would, if we were at the sea side, term as being a sea fret, could still be seen but the sky line was getting clearer all the time.
On this morning's walk, apart from picking up one midge bite on my hand, my walk had been near perfect and, as far as I was concerned, could not get better.
When I looked down at my watch, as I began to walk back in the direction that I had come from, I noticed it was only 8.30 am.
I went back to the lane I had come on and, in the distance, a beautiful pedigree puppy was eying me up and I could see that it was unsure about me so I ignored it and carried on making notes.
When I looked away from my notes, a few seconds later, I could see that the pup had made it's mind up about me and wanted to make a fuss. I spoke to the dog but made no attempt to pat or stroke it then saw its owner. The dog owner was sensibly dressed for the countryside walk and had a walking stick with here similar to one used by a sheep herder.
The two of us stopped for a chat and it transpired that the lady and her husband used to have a farm nearby. For a few years, they worked the land in another part of the country and when they felt that they were too old to carry on, they bought the farm where the lady had been born which was not far away from where we were standing. What a wonderful story!
I could tell by the lady's attitude that she was content with here life and, these days, when hustle and bustle seems to be everywhere, she is to be envied.
I really enjoyed my walk but the pleasure, as I typed up my notes, has brought all the wonderful sights and smells flooding back to me for a second bite at the cherry.
I hope you enjoy reading about my early morning walk as much as I have enjoyed writing about it.
By for now,
John.
Written by jacksj989 Blog about this entry |
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19:23:00 o'clock BST
Feeling Happy
An early morning walk
I had not travelled far when a lucky black cat ran out in front of the car and my intuitions told me that I was going to have a wonderful walk.
My journey out, down bending and twisting leafy lanes, was devoid of traffic and instead of speeding up, to get to my destination quicker, I slowed the vehicle, wound down the window and drank in the clear dank morning air.
I ran into a thick low mist that kept fogging up the car's windscreen, from the outside, and when I reached my destination, the same fog hung and hugged the fields like a scene out of a horror film set.
Although it was cold, it did not bother me for I was dressed in my winter coat. Some people do not seem to be phased by the cold and, before I had gathered my thoughts and got out of the car, another vehicle pulled into the car park and when the driver pulled himself out of the, how can I say it, scrap car, he was only wearing a short sleeved shirt and a pair of Shorts. I wondered, while he was out walking his dog, if the man was going out jogging but he was not a young man and I dismissed this idea and thought that he must, as he was getting ready to take the dog out, misjudged how cold it was going to be.
When I began to walk, I was surprised to see that fishermen had bet me to it for they were already set up and casting their lines in the hope of catching an unsuspecting early morning feeding fish.
I stopped for a moment, to make a few notes, and when I looked up the mist came in thick and it's cold dankness momentarily stopped my pen from working.
When I first arrived at the site, grazing cows and sheep seemed to be more tolerant of each other for they were all close together. Now, fifteen minutes later, the hurd and the sheep were evenly spaced out and eagerly taking sustenance from the already brown tinged damp grassland.
Woodpigions and Crows were eagerly feeding at the sides of the lanes and could not care less about me being close to them as they foraged for food. Robins were trilling and many other tree perching birds were twittering and calling; it was as is the whole bird population was coming alive at once.
I was about to walk off into the woods when I remembered how wet the morning dew was and, so as not to get wet, I walked on into an area where there were dry and stable footpaths.
In front of me, the sun was just breaking over the tops of the conifer trees and when I came to my first lake, it was as calm as a mill pond. There was no water lappage and it was very quiet and tranquil for me, as I looked out over water, to see colouration that would have done any of my water colour painting trials justice.
Close to where I was standing, a Heron stood motionless looking out over water that did not have a ripple on it. The Heron, still dry, was looking for its first catch of the day as it stood, like a sentinel, and I imagined that it was looking into the water to see where it could make it's first catch,
To my left, from a shrub that I could have touched if I had been inclined to stretch out my hand, summer visitors, such as Chiffchaffs, called and a family party of Long Tailed Tits joined them while lethargic feeding geese grazed to my right.
Although I could easily see Great Crested Grebes and Swans out on the calm water, the mist made it difficult to see anything else and I decided to turn away and make my way towards the wooded areas.
Before moving on, a Twitcher came to the site (a person that goes out birdwatching to see rare birds so that they can add them to their bird sighting numbers.)
In his haste to be the first person to see what birds were on the site, he overlooked the obvious and also frightened off the Heron. If he had been quiet and had a slower pace, he would have been able to see all the local birds that were on site.
I decided to stand quiet for a few more minutes, while the Twitcher was out of my way and, only inches away from me, now that I was close to a tree, Whitethroats and Willow Warblers flitted from branch to branch and disregarded my presence.
The newcomer, to the scene, soon upset the equilibrium of the site and I decided to move on.
To my amazement, when I walked to a path that was straight and allowed me to see ahead of me, I saw the Twitcher marching along as if there was not a moment to spare.
I felt the need to distance myself from the man and stopped at the side of a clump of shrubs. In the centre of one of the shrubs, there was a one note call, from a bird that I did not know, and I stayed, for a while, to listen but a passing dog walker disturbed the bird so I moved on.
I noted that some of the exposed shrub's leaves were already turning brown which was a sure sign that colder mornings were just round the corner.
At about 7.30 am, now with the sun warming the air and burning off the fog banks, I made my way down a wooded lane where squirrels and rabbits bounded around in front of me. A pheasant called, in the distance, and I heard my first barking dog of the day.
I came to a clearing where I saw a large field that was, only three weeks ago, still in full crop. Today, the crop had gone, the soil had been re seeded and tilled ready for the next growth to come through. Now that there was no crop to hinder the view, the panoramics had completely changed.
When I moved on more rabbits scampered around as if unaware that I was close by.
I moved to a high spot and in front of me there were open grassed fields and wooded areas as far as the eye could see.
There wasn't a cloud in the azure blue sky and, as the rising sun's heat gathered pace, different nasal senses wafted on the breeze.
Dead grasses and Brackens were drying out and flowers, we gardeners call weeds, were also giving off their scents.
While I breathed in the wonderful smells, I took in a deep breath and also closed my eyes. For a brief moment, I was in a dream like state but was soon brought back to reality after being startled by the raucous sound of a restless Jay that momentarily dropped in a tree close to where I was standing.
In the distance, a haze, we would, if we were at the sea side, term as being a sea fret, could still be seen but the sky line was getting clearer all the time.
On this morning's walk, apart from picking up one midge bite on my hand, my walk had been near perfect and, as far as I was concerned, could not get better.
When I looked down at my watch, as I began to walk back in the direction that I had come from, I noticed it was only 8.30 am.
I went back to the lane I had come on and, in the distance, a beautiful pedigree puppy was eying me up and I could see that it was unsure about me so I ignored it and carried on making notes.
When I looked away from my notes, a few seconds later, I could see that the pup had made it's mind up about me and wanted to make a fuss. I spoke to the dog but made no attempt to pat or stroke it then saw its owner. The dog owner was sensibly dressed for the countryside walk and had a walking stick with here similar to one used by a sheep herder.
The two of us stopped for a chat and it transpired that the lady and her husband used to have a farm nearby. For a few years, they worked the land in another part of the country and when they felt that they were too old to carry on, they bought the farm where the lady had been born which was not far away from where we were standing. What a wonderful story!
I could tell by the lady's attitude that she was content with here life and, these days, when hustle and bustle seems to be everywhere, she is to be envied.
I really enjoyed my walk but the pleasure, as I typed up my notes, has brought all the wonderful sights and smells flooding back to me for a second bite at the cherry.
I hope you enjoy reading about my early morning walk as much as I have enjoyed writing about it.
By for now,
John.
Written by jacksj989 Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | digg this
This entry has 10 comments: (Add your own)
-
Enjoyed reading about your early morning walks. Must try a early morning walk to our local lake we used to enjoy them a few years back listening to the birds and watching the fishermen and having a coffee at the Golf club (or breakfast).
living in a village in the country its easy for us to do that , but we dont do that often now.....................................................joh nmichael -
:) have been out collecting seeds today, autumn is upon us. I like the thrill you get John with each walk, not knowing what you might see, each moment has a particular height :) I saw my very first live kingfisher, so I've had the same thrill. Keep walking :) Rache
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Hi John, I'm a morning person too. There's no better time to walk than first thing in the morning and your walk sounds like it was just heaven! Thanks for sharing!
Susie -
Nice walk with you especially the cool brisk air. Something we don't have here, but I could almost feel it reading your entry. Paula
17/09/07 17:10