Away from the 'townlife'

Evening all,

Just a short excursion on my blog before the grind calls to me. I seem to remember that my last post was speaking of the virtues of ‘townlife’ and the vast majority of creatures that are making their home alongside of us, well more likely above or below us. As regular readers (3.6 and growing) will now have come to know I’m slowly trying to lesson my impact and live more in kilter with mother earth by the taking of small steps. Part of this (yes I know I’m covering old ground but I may get another reader soon – well one day) is to lesson the use of the fun cruiser. So, for the past week or so the walking has been restricted to meandering around the pavements and local fields of less than sunny Buckley.

Now don’t get me wrong I’ve enjoyed the walking and the closeness to some fauna, with which the bog monster being off the leash had before now remained elusive to say the least, but there it is, a but that I just couldn’t quite put my finger upon. Walking – check, Lucy – check, wildlife – check hey that’s everything isn’t it? Well no, it’s just not everything and I really didn’t know what the but was until yesterday. I had to go and pick some essentials up from the town of Mold down the road so to kill two birds I piled Lucy into the back and away we went, walk first then the shopping.

We drew into the car park at Nercwys woods and piled out into an atmosphere which was muggy and cloying. I glanced up at the darkened sky and thought better of the walk thinking that we could hit the pavements once home, even Lucy looked subdued and uninterested in the trail ahead. Bugger it we were here now so let’s round a short circuit, get it over with and call it quits. Twenty yards from the car it starts to wet rain, yes I know full well that rain by its very nature (it is water after all) is wet but this was wet rain. You know the type, like walking through mist or fog but without it actually affecting your vision (no spook game then, thank god), rain so fine that you don’t actually notice that your getting wet until your soaked to your underwear, yep wet rain. But I was in that sort of mood, yes I had a coat in the car but I really just could not be bothered turning around to get it, lets just get it over with. Oh and another thing about rain Lucy hates it, I do not jest, no the monster from the filthiest dregs of water imaginably hates it (maybe because it’s clean?) down goes her head and between her legs sits her tail, abject misery. Did I mention the flies, no? bloody hell we were being eaten alive by the little sods, oh how we were enjoying the walk.

Funny thing though the rain had a miraculous affect upon us, the air cooled and the flies albeit disappeared within another half a mile were fully into our stride and the walk was falling into its usual pattern of John sees animal, John raises camera Lucy hurtles past and John curse her for the umpteenth time. Yep we were enjoying ourselves and each others company one more. Ok my underwear would require wringing out and Lucy would defiantly have to have a shower once we returned home (though I could’ve wrung me underwear out in the shops) but the flies had lessoned considerable in number and as we moved into the thickest part of the woods there was something else, something far deeper.

 Call it primitive perhaps but we both were more alive for want of better words, the smells, taste, feel and vision of the woods swamped our senses and we were both feeling at one with our surroundings. Lucy even managed to put a rabbit up (unexpected this deep into the woods) and would have surprised herself if the cunning little critter had not turned sharply as she, with the turning circle of a super tanker, achieved full momentum. The freshness and countless variety of life after the walks in the suburbs is truly overwhelming.

Now don’t mistake my intentions, suburban walking will still fill large amounts of my walking time, I am truly serious about lessoning the impact I have, but I refuse to give up the wilds, even if it may mean upping sticks and moving at some point down the line, after all the future is a blank page yet to be written. The past days have been busy with several bits that I could post about and when I get some more time I’ll be letting you know how I’m doing on the path that I’ve chosen, although it may be a few days or longer before I have chance to compile some more posts. Until then from Lucy n me take care and thank you for taking the time to read.

Your friend,

John