Poppy fields and sparrowhawk - @30DaysWild day 23

I've been making the effort to notice the world on my daily commute, so yesterday instead of engaging the mental autopilot and GET HOME mentalilty, I saw this heavenly site and instead of whizzing by, I pulled over and got out with my camera. I spent a while just marvelling in the beauty of a meadow full of poppies.

Not my best photo ever, but later on we went out on a wildness adventure along a local footpath. The most wild thing about it initially was the fact that the nettles were bigger than us, and possibly a danger to life and limb. However, when we could go no further and turned back we could hear an incredible ruckus in the trees. The birds were going mental about something, and then we saw it. I'm pretty sure it was a sparrowhawk, but my camera reaction time was so slow that I only just caught it.

Random Acts of Wildness - Day 21

We had a father's day visit to the seaside and were entertained by acrobatic sand martins this time. At least I think they were sand martins. They were definitely not swallows and not house martins, because I know what they look like now. These were brown. However, they might have been swifts.......No, I'm pretty sure they were sand martins, because they were quite small. They were moving far too fast to capture on camera, so I can't check now that I'm at home again. I have an alternative bird picture. Some ducklings and mummy duck tucking into some bread that had been left for them. I know most of us have grown up feeding bread to the ducks, but it is now considered to be bad for them and the ponds, rivers and canals. See the link here

Random Acts of Wildness - Day 20

Again at the barns, a woodpecker flew between us! What the!  Now that was a first for us.We will watch (and listen) out for him again!

Random Acts of Wildness - Day 19

It's been a busy weekend, but I managed some acts of wildness, or at least wildness watching. After a long day labouring at the barns I spent a welcome few moments watching the house martins zooming about  in the dusk light . They are so spectacularly acrobatic, but very difficult to catch on camera in poor light, but I made an attempt. You can just about see  house martin on the picture below. I was quite surprised to see the house martins because we already have swallows nesting in the barns, and I thought that I was doing well seeing those so close. You can actually go into the barn where they fly in (at great speed, I might add), but they then go into another part that is inaccessible to human's for the moment. You can hear the swallows, and they really make a racket, but you can't see them.

C25K - Couch to 5k Week 8

Another week and yet more pain. This week it's 28 minutes running. I mean, it's only 3 minutes long than last week so why does it feel so much harder? Oh well, at least I am doing it and I won't give up. The first run of week 8 was a bit damp. We had torrential rain the day (and night) before and the long grass was very, very wet. Most of the time I'm running on well-walked short grass, but there's the odd bit's on the corners where the grass is longer. Squish, squish.

The last run is done and another week over. The last run of the week seemed a bit easier, although I'm a bit cream crackered now. I have new trainers because I needed (yes, I really did need) a quick drying pair, and now I have a new blister. That will teach me to rip them out the box, whip them on and set off around the field. I needed to set up the laces a bit better so that there was no bagginess and rubbing. Well that's a lesson learned the hard way. Apart from that they were lovely and bouncy - and a super bright purple colour. Whilst running I could hear a tractor in the next field, so when the run was done I grabbed my camera and went to have a look. There are no more buttercups. They've all gone and so has all the grass. The tractor emerged out of the field just as I was reaching the top of the hill, the trailer full of black plastic silage bags. Before and after pictures below.

Random Acts of Wildness @30DaysWild

Wildlife Trust - day 18 of 30 days Wild

I'm a little bit late to the party, but better late than never. 'What party' you ask. Well, it's the Wildlife Trust 'My Wild Life' campaign, and you're all invited. The basic premise is to notice nature and do something different in your day to bring you closer to your local wildlife - a random act of wildness. This is every day in June, but I guess that if you get into the habit in June, you will do it every day forever.

A walk in the park

My random act of wildness today is to walk through Queens Park in Chesterfield in my lunch break with my camera. I noticed a couple of days ago how comically huge the canada geese babies are. Yes, I know they are goslings but canada geese goslings doesn't sound right. They are enormous compared to the ducks and moorhen(s) (how do you say the plural of these birds?). One of the funny moments was when a moorhen snatched a piece of bread and sprinted for the lake, dodging all the ducks and geese like a rugby player.

C25K Week 7

I know that I'm a better runner than I was at week 1 because I couldn't run at all before then without limping and puffing, but it all still seems such an effort. But......every run this week was 25 minutes and I did it. Whoop, Whoop. Whenever I'm heading into the wind and up a hill (read slight incline when I say hill), I force myself to look at and appreciate the buttercups and the way that grass flowers are making swathes of red across the yellow. It makes me smile and forget the pain. For a nano second.......but it helps.

When I finished my run I had a wander into the next field with my camera, partly to check out an extension to my running track and to well, nose around. As you can see, it's all very picturesque, with a sneaky view of our barns through the wood.

C25K Week 6

Back on home turf and week 6 is done. It was lovely to be back running around the field. Whenever I'm puffing and struggling, I make myself look around at the buttercups and the may blossom and the sheer loveliness of it all. It just makes me smile and forget the pain for a bit. I know, I'm gushing, but it is very pretty. I did find that the little hill felt like a big hill, especially on the second run when there was a howling head wind up the hill. How unfair, but probably character and fitness forming. I was glad when that one was finished. The last run of the week was a bit of a killer at 25 minutes, but I couldn't have done it a few weeks ago.