A Winter Walk
As I write we’ve just turned the calendar page to February, it’s cold and grey most days and we’re still in a national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To be honest it’s pretty hard finding the motivation to get up in the morning some days, you see I’m one of life’s planners…. I like to have lots of plans, lists and ideas and often feel overwhelmed with all the things I want to get done, people to see and creative pursuits to fulfil but that’s when I’m thriving, when life whizzes by and I’m having fun. Recently life hasn’t been the calmest as we’ve been trying to move house (more on that another time) and as a result, in combination of the ambiguity of COVID and lockdown in addition to the move, making plans has been hard and so life has been pretty samey!
I worked for many years on a brand where mindfulness was at it’s heart which means I learnt a lot of techniques for grounding myself and finding contentment - not all of them always work but one that does is taking a walk and being in the moment; observing the sights, smells and sounds of your surroundings. Having a dog really helps with this, particularly when navigating muddy puddles and observing animals as they hide from being chased!
As Marley and I walked through the countryside today I played a game; challenging myself to find signs of Spring and interesting shapes, colours and smells. The colour was the most difficult as it’s all rather monochrome out there at the moment but we did come across a bush that looked like the ends of it’s branches were on fire with deep red rose hips. I found deer footprints, trees that looked like they were screaming, signs of new life with bulbs poking their heads through the mud and buds on trees waiting to unfurl. I listened to the birdsong, watched a fat little robin with his puffed up chest sing for all to hear from a bald tree branch. I saw hares bouncing along a bare brown field and brightly coloured pheasants squawk as they were disturbed from their hidden slumber. No deer today but a couple of human walkers out for a breath of fresh air before the rain returned.
When I started out on my walk I had a knot in my stomach and felt a bit like Eeyore but as I approached the back gate with a happy (and very muddy) dog I was more Piglet and less knotted. Maybe tomorrow I will return as Tigger - now that will be an excellent walk indeed!
I know I’m not the only one finding it a bit of a struggle sometimes so I thought I’d share some photos from today’s walk to inspire you to go on your own Winter Scavenger Hunt, I’ve also created a crib sheet if you have kids for them to have a go too - but make sure you join in and embrace your inner Tigger. Let me know how you get on and what other things you found on your adventure.
