Taking a walk

I only did a short walk of two and a half miles today. But in my defence my knees and feet are sore and I still walked uphill. I’m on day 33 of my #100daywalkingchallenge, basically about a third of the way through it. I’ve learnt that five miles is about my limit at the moment. Going uphill is somehow easier on my knees than walking downhill. I’ve managed to jog slightly. I like watching the world change as the days lengthen (but are getting colder again). That it’s easier to do two short walks than one long one. And that I can manage without travelling miles in the car as long as I get out and about (oh, and with the car door playing up, so I can’t always unlock it from the outside, it’s a good job I can walk!)

Here be dragons…

Not Welsh Dragons, but at least they are dragons. Today is Saint David’s day, the patron Saint of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wales. But the symbol for the day is the daffodil. This is a bit of a confused blog post!

Anyway this dragon fountain is in Hanley Park, Stoke-on-Trent’s. I think the dragons are more like water monsters as they have fishy tails (and this is a fishy tale!)

Trees in winter

Reflections again, this time of trees along the river Trent a few weeks ago. Walking in the rain, trying to avoid the fifty yard long puddles on the paths. Stepping through muddy grass with shoes sinking into the earth. It was wet! Subtle hints of green in the bushes that was knocked back when the temperatures dropped and the snow fell. A whole section of the newly restored river bank washed away and the new housing estate on the flood plain is threatened. Why build on the flood plain anyway? Money!

Tree

Trees are huge, yet delicate. Branches, stems, twigs. So much to see, so hard to draw. Mature trees are suffering damage all the time now. Gales blow down limbs, rain undermines their roots. Fungi and bacteria, so small, can lay a tree low. Sudden Oak Death, Ash die back, so many trees are disappearing from the country. Once it was Dutch Elm disease, now it could be any number of infections and lesions.

We are seeing the effect of the anthropocine, the effect of humans on the natural world. We need to change for the good of nature.

Insomnia

I can’t sleep, so I don’t dream, on the hour every hour, I look at the alarm clock. Tick tock, tick tock. Put the radio on low sometimes. The murmur might send me to sleep, but then it wakes me up if there is serious news or something interesting. Having a cat move in doesn’t help. He wants to go out at odd times. Yowl, miaow, he wakes me up. So another night goes by…

Strawberries and cream

Looking for comfort food, I’ve got strawberries in the fridge but no cream. I’m going to get some tomorrow. I want something fresh and summery to remind me summer is going to arrive, that picnics might happen again. That I can visit the park again with friends one day. That life can be restored.. All that in a bowl of strawberries and cream….