Nature and walking

I value the clatter of dragonfly wings as they acrobat about the place.

Absolutely love this!!!

This sounds like my kind of spot.

Yesterday was this first day I’d been able to get to what I call my quiet place in nature after a couple of weeks away and it felt so good. The first sound I was aware of was the gentle breeze blowing through the trees it felt so soothing, I’m sure it helps repair something inside your body and mind.

More and more as I get older things like birdsong bring me greater happiness. The extractor fan in our kitchen has broken and these last three years birds have nested in the little hole in the wall where the fan is. You can hear the baby birds chirping when the mother comes to feed them. It’s so lovely! I never get things like this fixed in the house as I hate getting workmen to come to the house - and in this case there’s a silver lining of giving these birds a place to nest! And we get to hear them in our kitchen :) 

I know they are a bit frowned upon now but when my children were toddlers we used ‘reins’ and they worked really well as it was a good balance between giving them a bit more freedom but also keeping them safe. It’s a difficult balance to get right isn’t it? 

That’s the trouble with wild garlic. Sometimes there might be a steep rocky bank in which the garlic pokes out between the rocks, so it would be out of peeing range. The scent of the wild garlic was very strong here by mid morning but it was all on flat ground, I gave it a miss. 

That really does help identification too!

Lots of wild garlic out inthe woods today, but it's all at dog peeing height which puts me off a bit.

Yes! It’s one of my favourite things to do, especially with the dogs. 

Listening with intent feels like a ‘rest for the brain’.

This morning I walked by the sea and enjoyed hearing the waves lapping on the shore. Sections of the walk took me through woodland - lots of birdsong.

"Little bit of bread and no cheese"

Yes. This morning I went to the top of a hill where skylarks nest and watched them soaring whilst singing.

Good for the soul.

Tragically they are now on the red list. 

I like that too. There's a range of birds in the hedgerows and fields near me and I like just to stop and take in the sounds. Maybe lie down in the grass if it's dry, then I can cloudwatch too. Skylarks and yellowhammer are favourites of mine and there's a corn bunting too. 

We have a couple of blackbirds in the garden and they sing beautifully every evening. Sky larks are fantastic, I love hearing the mew of buzzards calling too.

I think we may have a lot of eggs and hopefuly chicks this year, I found a blackbird eating my chickens "layers pellets", I wonder if they know they're good for them?

just walking in it and listening is good!

Oh definitely, it's so calming. Just listening to all the different birds and bugs flying around, especially if it's a bit warm and you can close your eyes and it's just you and the sounds.

I like listening to the birds in the morning or at night before I go or get up!

When lazy [often], I love lying in bed watching my bird table and listening to the different species arguing over the best bits. Likewise at night, their night songs just before they go to sleep. Magic!

Yes, I love hearing the sound of nature when walking and looking around to see wildlife. I don't understand people going out for exercise and listening to music.

Nature has always been my refuge. I have never felt comfortable in towns /cities but if I have to go there I find myself hunting out little bits of 'wild" even if its a little ant wandering along a pavement. 

Yes, when my daughter was a baby I used to take her in a stroller and enjoy nature while she was sleeping. But now she us a naughty toddler and I have to really pay attention where she is, what she is doing etc.

Yes  This time of year is just so lovely - all the bright greenness - very uplifting