A little ramble

I have a couple of confessions to make. Firstly, I’m still here! Secondly, I’d say I probably got to the end of the 2nd January 2022 when I realised that I’d miss writing my weekly posts. I can confirm that I’m still keeping up my daily acts of wildness – and I may well share some of these with you in one form or another soon – but, as the end of 2021 came, I was worried that it might become repetitive and boring if I continued.

This blog started all the way back in 2020 as somewhere for me to share my artwork. There was a lot of time for art and I wanted to tell the stories behind my pieces. As time went on, finding a spare moment became harder, but my wild challenge brought some focus and motivation. I was determined to make time to reflect, write and share.

That’s what I feel like I’ve lost a little bit. Those moments – whether they be related to art, the wild world, or something else – have gone. Stories are harder to share if you don’t write or talk about them straight away. So that’s what I’m going to try and do in 2022. When I have a thought, beautiful moment, wild encounter or reflection, I’m going to try and write it and share it. And, today, I had one of those moments.

My little ramble

Work is unbelievably busy right now. Out of office hours plus usual ‘in office hours’. It’s fun but tough and it’s a struggle to balance everything.

It’s also a struggle to do some of the things that I know are unbelievably helpful for my wellbeing – like going out for a daily walk. The light doesn’t help, but this has seriously slipped and I’m not happy about it. Today was different. I was determined. So I started early, prepped everything for an event I’ll be running tomorrow, tried to get ahead for another project that’s about to launch and then forced myself to finish before it got dark.

It was tight with the light and I was almost too late to go on the single track roads and through the fields, but I just about made it (even if I was pushing my luck!) Ironically, I was surprised at how light it was when I left the house and was very pleased to see that the sun was sort-of out. Isn’t it amazing how, when you’re busy and stuck inside, you don’t even notice if the sun is out or not!?

As I walked, some snowdrops by the side of the busy main road out of Shipston suddenly caught my eye. They looked very modest – like they were trying to hide themselves amongst the ivy. Lost in my thoughts, I nearly missed them but I’m so glad they grasped my attention eventually. I love snowdrops and I saw the earliest ones of 2021 on the same walk last year.

You may already know that I absolutely love birds too. There were plenty of fieldfares, goldfinches and blackbirds today. One goldfinch showed me his bright yellow wing bars as he burst out of the hedgerow. The fieldfares repeated their usual loud chortling and a blackbird turned out to be the culprit of some rustling in the leaves near the river (after I investigated said rustling).

But there was one bird that I wasn’t sure about. I couldn’t get a photo but it hopped out as I passed some houses in Honington and bounced alongside me for a while. I’m not sure if it was injured and couldn’t fly or if it just wanted to hop (maybe that’s a thing in the bird world?) But it looked to me like it was a young goldfinch. Or maybe a siskin? A greenfinch? It’s a mystery!

I also love sunrises and sunsets. The clouds were perfect for a sunset this evening. I worried less and less about the light as I passed through Honington and focused on the colours that dusk had brought instead. Fiery oranges and yellows, brilliant pinks and purples and dramatic greys. Looking more closely, I can now see purple within the greys too. It’s important to look more closely sometimes. You miss such interesting things when you don’t!

I could feel the night approaching as I headed up through the field and across the river. As I took a photo of the sunset beyond the bridge, trees and fields, I tried to get a composition that I thought I could paint. I really like landscapes with rickety old things in the foreground – be they bridges, dry stone walls, stiles, or gates. I hope I get around to giving this one a bash soon!

And when I got home? Well, the sky was just on fire. I saw others notice it too – that brought a little smile to my face. Perhaps they’d also enjoyed a little ramble of their own? I like to think so.