I wondered how my walk was going to be different from yesterday. I was on the same 'Old Road Bridge', and I was sauntering along the same old path as before. The Swallows were still around too - still skimming across the water, and still far too quick to photograph! A few Gulls were flying about as well. It was fun arching my head and my arm, in an attempt to capture them with my camera - 'Gulls on the air'. I found them to be a little bit easier than the Swallows, at least. The riverside is a perfect habitat for insects. There was an abundance of them (as usual!), and an enormous Bumble Bee flew passed me. It is always a pleasure to see a Bumble Bee, as I know their numbers have been struggling of late, and their population has been falling. He definitely wasn't stopping for anyone, this one, and definitely not for me to take a picture (a 'busy bee', to use a cliche!). I only wish I'd had some fore-thought, and tried to take a video instead. I'll know for next time. The wonderful thing about being out in nature is that you're always learning - every time is a learning experience. My wild walk home had become something new and different, without me even thinking about it. Amazing!
'Day Two' I wondered how my walk was going to be different from yesterday. I was on the same 'Old Road Bridge', and I was sauntering along the same old path as before. The Swallows were still around too - still skimming across the water, and still far too quick to photograph! A few Gulls were flying about as well. It was fun arching my head and my arm, in an attempt to capture them with my camera - 'Gulls on the air'. I found them to be a little bit easier than the Swallows, at least. The riverside is a perfect habitat for insects. There was an abundance of them (as usual!), and an enormous Bumble Bee flew passed me. It is always a pleasure to see a Bumble Bee, as I know their numbers have been struggling of late, and their population has been falling. He definitely wasn't stopping for anyone, this one, and definitely not for me to take a picture (a 'busy bee', to use a cliche!). I only wish I'd had some fore-thought, and tried to take a video instead. I'll know for next time. The wonderful thing about being out in nature is that you're always learning - every time is a learning experience. My wild walk home had become something new and different, without me even thinking about it. Amazing! The weather has been rather strange of late, and looking upwards, I could see this reflected in the sky. There were white clouds, and clear patches of blue, and the Sun was shining brightly through other spots. In other areas, there were rolling storm clouds of dark grey, unfurling over the landscape. It was all a pattern, one that I noticed as I continued my walk. Part of the gravel path was soaked from recent rain, while a section further along was much drier (if not completely dry). I decided to go a little off the beaten path today, and take a journey across the grass. Some of this route was water-logged, mushy and muddy, beneath my feet. Other parts were baked in the heat of the evening Sun. Those contrasts again. A group of Blackbirds were foraging on the ground ahead of me. They reacted immediately to my sudden presence, and moved slightly further away. I turned my focus on one particular Blackbird, the one that was closest to me. He was foraging quite intensely, stabbing his beak, back and forth, through the grass-blades, and into the soil. At the same time, he was always alert to his surroundings. He cocked his ears, to the 'sounds on the air', with his eyes piercing, and searching around him, and when he seemed to feel a possible threat, he trotted quickly away. A Blackbird forgaging and listening, looking and reacting. Walking across the same foot-bridge as yesterday, I spotted a Wood Pigeon perched in a small tree. Every so often, this tree would sway, and the Pigeon would adjust it's position in response. It was fun to watch - a relatively large bird trying to remain steady, on quite a flimsy branch! I've always found Wood Pigeons to be comical birds to observe. I mean that in an entirely good way, and not a disrespectful one, as 'comical moments' in the natural world are still a wonder to behold. The moment I started taking a video, of course, the Pigeon flew off ( that always seems to be my luck!). I did get plenty of photos though. I have always marvelled at how beautifully a Pigeon will unfold it's wings and tail-fin, in preparation for flight, having had them so neatly tucked away. How often the beauty of nature can be subtle like that, and so rewarding, all at once. Truly wonderful! By the time I was on the old railway-line, the darkness of the clouds was closing in around me, and a chilly breeze was sweeping passed my face. It was going to rain. Indeed, it did start to rain. Not for as long as I thought it would (and not as heavy either), but the rain drops were there, splashing against my hat (quickly adorned, I might add!), and the water ran gently down my hands. I don't mind the rain at all, especially not on my way home, and the birdsong afterwards is often a striking cacophony. I stood for a moment, and watched reflections in a puddle, formed by an earlier downpour. There was the pitter-patter and ripples, as new rain hit and swirled through its surface. I decided that 'Day Two' was over. It was time to go home. I have been making a number of observations during my walks. I use only my five senses, and my thoughts (the ability of the human mind), along with my 'sixth sense' of personal intuition - an intuition that I have come to trust and value. We see older birds courting and younger chicks born. Green leaves blossom, and grow on the trees, eventually turning burnt orange and brown, and withering and dying. Nothing can be eternal, but new life can form. Young chicks grow into adult birds, they court each other and mate, and they create new life for the world. In cycle. Nature is a perpetual cycle of life and death, and a cycle of many contrasts. Parts of contrast make up the mosaic of the whole - the whole that is nature. The whole that is the natural world.
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