Hello you,
I awaken with the dawn chorus most mornings in springtime. That is more than fine with me. The instinct to get outside, get outside begins to nudge me soon after.
Being outdoors on a fresh spring morning sends a message direct to my soul. Hope. This day is going to be okay.
Up and about before everyone else except the farmers and the wildlife; being here is a precious gift.
There is no rain today and no dazzling light either. This dawn is a gentle, soothing one, as white sun illuminates the moorland through a mist haze.
It smells of newness, of dew on buds and fresh saplings.
This lane appears in Lancashire walking guides as a must-visit thanks to its spectacular scenery. As I so often do, I thank the chain of events that led me to living near here. It is always beautiful to me, whatever the season or clime.
I so love to feel my boots clomping along this lane. With every step up the hill, more terrain and vast sky come into view. The panorama is too big to take in all at once. Fears and challenges shrink.
I am thrilled like a child when I notice something I haven’t before. New pine branches. They are so lush and bright! Each tree is adorned with a vivid green layer of new. I can’t help but reach out to gently touch and they are soft like baby’s skin.
Through the gate now and into the woods, my feet make satisfying sounds on crunching gravel and snapping twigs.
I am thrilled for a magic moment by a flash and a flutter of blood orange plumage in the bush ahead. A bullfinch. Before I have a chance to study him, he flaps away. On tiptoes I wait in case he returns. Not today.
Everywhere I look evokes the word NEW. This place is bursting with life and buds and every shade of green. Yolk-orange Iceland poppies bloom next to the footpath and thistles are on the very cusp of flowering.
(21 seconds of my walk for you)
I am thrilled to hear the most iconic bird-call of them all.
Cuckoo…cuckoo
Not near enough to catch sight of, but a joy to hear all the same.
Before I walk back the way I came, to the world of pings and screens, I head into the trees. I duck under branches and watch my footing around the piles of pinecones. I am compelled to stop. To look up. This new perspective gives me pause. Wow. The canopy, so high above, envelops me. I see the miracles of magnitude and of the trees knowing not to invade each other’s space.
A few more breaths. And then it’s time.
Thank you to
and her beautiful essay about a recent walk for giving me permission to write about my own walk.Wishing you some moments of beauty and pause this week.
Janelle x
Beautiful words and photos 🌿💚🌿
I’m down in Kent with my husband and in-laws this weekend, and yesterday we went for a walk. The sound of the birds and the sight of the vibrant greenery was a little overwhelming. I ended up walking ahead on my own for some of the walk because I wanted to be able to take it in without being distracted by conversation.
nice......and I love that word....'clomping'......a musical word.......and a word I certainly relate to....in my boots...'clomping'. love it.