I mean, just look at that!
The snow of last week has melted and even though the cold air
was cutting and I was wrapped in a thick fluffy coat, the overly long sleeves
of my jumper pulled down to envelop the cuffs of my gloves, that feeling of
soaking up the warm sunshine on my face seemed like an act of defiance.
I strode briskly up to the church, through the graveyard and
then along to my favourite place, this long avenue of lime trees. I love
the way the huge clusters of mistletoe adorn the trees’ branches like giant
green pom-poms.
When I walk like this, I drift into a sort of autopilot
mode; my mind goes into freefall; I'm sure most people find the same when walking alone. I love these moments of solitude in my head.
I started thinking about all sorts of things – about WWI
soldiers (we’d watched the incredibly poignant film ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ last night) and about Henry Moore’s sheep
drawings and about the blister on the back of my ankle and what it might look
like when I take off my sock. (Not good,
as it happens. Raw!) But then all those thoughts trickled away,
just trickled away…. they had been too busy… and I started to notice only how heightened my
senses had become, out here, in the cold, in the sun, in the moment. Everything
so vivid. I could hear a bluetit up in
the branches, then a mistle thrush. I
could smell the manure from the fields, hear the crunch of gravel beneath my
boots and the squeaky wheel of a tricycle ahead in the distance as a small child
navigated his way between potholes, I could see the rooks on the gate, their
plumage illuminated by the sunlight.
I just went with it, feeling in every sense totally, dazzlingly, alive. (Sorry to be so corny.)
Inevitable then, anyway, that this song should come into my head!
It's incredible how vivid and sharply focused the world feels when the skies clear and the sun reappears after a period of overcast weather isn't it? I can totally relate to loving those moments of solitude while walking. I'm sure I do my best thinking when I'm out and about.
ReplyDeleteLovely shots C and a top tune of course.
So true about the sharp focus. Ironically that was one thing I couldn't do when snapping those shots on my cheap phone, it was too bright to see what I was doing so I just clicked randomly! I was amazed by the depth and colour of that sky and when I downloaded the photos I was pleasantly surprised to see the phone camera had done it such justice!
DeleteI agree - walking definitely enables the best thinking and is often the time when I come up with ideas without really trying!
Any excuse for a spot of early XTC :)
ReplyDeleteMindful walking, then?
Absolutely. And yes, walking is definitely the time for mindfulness, isn't it? Good for the body and soul too!
DeleteThere was freezing fog here the other day. On my way to work, I drove over the moors, out of the fog (which was clinging to the valley bottoms) and saw skies just the ones in your pictures.
ReplyDeleteI felt a lot better about the day just for having those few moments under blue skies.
Oh, don't envy you having to drive to work in freezing fog, not at all. But sounds like that glimpse of deep blue sky was worth it.
DeleteLove your pictures. We too have had very cold weather of late but the upshot is those beautiful blue skies.
ReplyDeleteI love your observations: blue skies and bluetits; mistletoe and mistle thrush
The bluetit and the mistle thrush were very vocal, maybe that's why. I'm always drawn to birdsong, I've sort of tuned myself in over the years!
DeleteThere's a slightly different clarity or maybe just the colour itself, in the clear blue skies we get in Winter to the ones we get in the Summer, don't you think?
Yes, the blue is so much "bluer", more "bluey" in winter, autumn and spring than in high summer. All to do with it being low in the sky I suppose - Contrasted with the sometimes stark trees and vegetation at this time of the year, it really stands out. Those are great trees by the way - There is one like that near us, but I hadn't twigged (no pun intended) that the balls of "stuff" were mistletoe. Thanks for that.
DeleteSo true. I love the way the seasons change absolutely everything!
DeleteGlad to have helped re. the mistletoe! And where there's mistletoe, there are often mistle thrushes, listen out for their harsh ratchet calls which are so loud and mechanical-sounding it's hard to believe there isn't someone hiding up in the tree with a football rattle!
Smashing post C. Love the unconnected thoughts that the walk and sky prompted
ReplyDeleteThanks SA. So nice to let the mind run free!
DeleteThat's the song that immediately came to my mind when scrolling down and reading this post, C. Great minds think alike!
ReplyDeleteIt just couldn't have been anything else, could it?!
DeleteQuite simply my favourite colour. And looks great in acrylic.
ReplyDeleteYes, a fab colour. Might we get to see some JM original skyscapes in acrylics on canvas?
DeleteYou might...
ReplyDelete