Take time out to enjoy the world around you.
Breathe in, breathe out, and listen to the sound of silence.
Peace will come at last.
Calm
Tag Archives: Nature
The Grey-Headed watcher
The clouds were gathering; a storm was approaching.
Taranis knew the time was near.
Before the heavens opened, before the winds whipped across the desolate moorland, before he summoned the thunder around him, he needed to gather his kin together, to keep the brethren close.
But first, food. He would require energy in the hours and days to come…
This month’s Mass Observation post was well received, and in these weird and wonderful times, we all need a bit of colour!
A quick reminder about the upcoming Mass Observation post. The project for June has the theme of RANDOM, so feel free to contribute.
To take part, simply take a photo around the theme of random:
- Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Sunday 31st May 2020.
- Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
- Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
- Come back and see the results on Sunday 7th June!
Paired
In the peace and solitude of the reserve, it seemed unlikely they would bump into anyone – or at least anyone they knew. They weren’t technically from the same household, but they were brothers, more than that, closer than any other platonic relationship they knew.
The silence was all-engulfing. The air was crisp, clear and held the scent of spring. So they walked. And boy did they walk. Mile upon mile, knowing they would have to walk the same distance back.
Something kept them going, though, a friendship, a camaraderie. They talked about everything and nothing, any silences between them comfortable.
So, they walked…
This month’s Mass Observation post was well received, and in these weird and wonderful times, we all need a bit of colour!
A quick reminder about the upcoming Mass Observation post. The project for June has the theme of RANDOM, so feel free to contribute.
To take part, simply take a photo around the theme of random:
- Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Sunday 31st May 2020.
- Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
- Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
- Come back and see the results on Sunday 7th June!
Animals of Somerset
With the lockdown ongoing (at time of writing), there is a definite need to get out and about for the regulation one-a-day constitutional, and on these trips out, you can encounter endless wildlife.
One of my recent discoveries was the Shapwick Heath Nature Reserve – on deserted mornings, all you can hear is the wildlife around you, various birds chirruping and tweeting, interspersed with the occasional booming of the nesting bitterns.
The photos below are not limited to Shapwick Heath, but it provides the inspiration for the set of images.
(Click on an image to see a larger version.)
This month’s Mass Observation post was well received, and in these weird and wonderful times, we all need a bit of colour!
Moving forward, the project for June has a new theme…
RANDOM
Who doesn’t like a bit of randomness? Interpret the theme as you will!
To take part, simply take a photo around the theme of random:
- Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Sunday 31st May 2020.
- Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
- Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
- Come back and see the results on Sunday 7th June!
9-in-45: 4th May 2020
Another opportunity to photograph my environs, while getting some exercise in at the same time.
As I’ve mentioned before, he idea of the project is to set out on a walk with a phone/stopwatch and your camera. Set your stopwatch for five minutes and start walking. When the five minutes is up, stop walking. You have a minute to compose and take a photograph. Set your stopwatch for another five minutes and start walking. When the time is up, stop and, within a minute take and compose your second photo. Keep going until you have walked for 45 minutes and have nine photos.
A slow and steady start to the walk, and my aim was Cinnamon Lane, a quiet country road within spitting distance of home. As befits the current lockdown, there were few people out and about and, aside from a handful of dog walkers, I saw nobody.
The beauty of this time of year is something we have tended to overlook before – our lives have been so rushed and busy that we don’t usually get the chance to stop and look about us. If there’s one thing good to come out of the pandemic, it is that we have had no choice but to do exactly that.
But some of us have to carry on working, including those farmers who have to keep an eye on their flocks and crops, so it was no surprise to see some people at work.
The positive about the route I took for this 9-in-45 is that on the way out the road is a quiet country lane. The downside is that the way back is the main road between Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury! The A361 has always been a local bone of contention, because of the constant flow of juggernauts it ferries between the two towns and beyond. Having said that, on a Monday afternoon under Covid-19 rules it’s a lot quieter!
Despite the busyness of the road, the view from it are spectacular.
The road is the main thoroughfare in this part of Somerset and, in decades past, was prime for local businessmen to earn a penny or two. (I hasten to add that this is for show, not a true toll!!)
Be kind and keep smiling! You’re nearly there!
Back to nature, then; I’ve photographed numerous full dandelion clocks in the past, so why not a denuded one?
Last of the nine and almost full circle! The Somerset Levels make for some big skies!!
Click on the links below to see my previous 9-in-45 walks:
And Postcard Cafe’s awesome “Take Nine Photos In Forty Five Minutes” collection can be found by clicking the link.
This month’s Mass Observation post was well received, and in these weird and wonderful times, we all need a bit of colour!
Moving forward, the project for June has a new theme…
RANDOM
Who doesn’t like a bit of randomness? Interpret the theme as you will!
To take part, simply take a photo around the theme of random:
- Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Sunday 31st May 2020.
- Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
- Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
- Come back and see the results on Sunday 7th June!
The Great Outdoors
What will be the first thing you do when the isolation is lifted? Where will you go? Who will you see? What will you do?
For me, not being able to get into the great outdoors is the big frustration at the moment. Yes, my posts have included daily walks around Glastonbury, but I want to get properly out and about. Having moved to Somerset seven weeks ago, I am itching to see more of the local area, the countryside, the seaside resorts.
My National Trust and Glastonbury Abbey passes are sitting in my wallet, going unused because all are shut. The countryside is very apparent from here. Looking out of my office window, I can look across Butleigh Moor to the Hood Monument, knowing I cannot, in all good conscience, get out and visit, climb the hill and see the Tor from another angle.
Frustration and cabin fever are kicking in…
Calm
Here in the UK, we are in a partial lockdown, and our opportunities to leave our homes are limited. This includes one lot of exercise per day, and this constitutional is something we will be relishing and making the most of while we can.
The bonus for these walks is that the weather has currently taken a big turn towards spring. While I appreciate that this won’t always be the case, it does mean that we have taken a definite move away from the weeks of rain we encountered earlier in the year.
The walk provides us with an opportunity to connect with nature – to reconnect with it. Roads are quieter and the lack or traffic noise means that our ears are more alert to the sounds of nature around us.
Birdsong seems louder than it did before.
The trees rustling in the breeze hits us more than it did before.
The quiet is deafening, but not in a negative way. It is more of a comfort, heightening the connection we have with the world around us, a connection the ‘normal’ world had deprived us of.
To take part in the current Mass Observation Project post on ISOLATION:
- Take a photograph based on the theme of ISOLATION, however you want to interpret it.
- Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Wednesday 1st April 2020.
- Images should be a maximum of 650 pixels wide.
- Include your name, website/blog address and a short note about the image, including where it was taken.
- Come back and see the results on Sunday 5th April!
CKPonderingsToo 