At the end of the day #30DaysWild day 22

Before I wax lyrically on celebrating dusk

I want to thank everyone who has taken the time read,

to comment and to join in with my marathon random acts of wildness.

Thank you :)

The evening light was amazing, after the heat of the day,

as the sun went down,

the air temperature was cooler.

Not a lot,

but cooler.

The earlier heat had been filled with vibrant excitable buzzing from insects

but now the buzz was more subtle,

more restrained.

The light gently oozed through the petals,

illuminating them like stained glass.

In this gentle light, 

cobwebs glowed almost like dusty fairy lights.

Actually, I wonder if that is what they really are....

Silhouettes of leaves, 

petal shadows,

delicate hairs glistening

Beautiful

Sublime

Not a breath of air,

almost muggy

Birds sang songs like molten liquid

Flies languidly caught the last of the rays

 We were out for a long time,

listening to the village quietening down,

listening to the garden relaxing 

after the day's heat.

Beautiful.

There is so much to gain 

from a small oasis

of your own

where you can breathe the air

feel the grass beneath your feet

and smell the scent of your garden.

I am so lucky.

#30DaysWild - have you listened to your garden today/

Watching the sky turn dark #30daywild day 21

We sat, quietly, listening to the last of the bird evensong.

Watched as the last birds flew home,

listened to them settling down to roost.

There is a certain special moment,

between day and night.

When the earth holds her breath,

then quietly, 

quietly,

gently,

releases it.

You have to be silent,

 be still,

be patient

and when, and only then,

you have mastered 

listening to that moment...

You hear that breath.

#30dayswild - what makes your heart soar? 

Dipping my toe into wild water #30dayswild day 20

There is nothing quite as delicious 

(or refreshingly bone achingly cold) 

as bare feet in a moorland stream!

We were not the only ones to dip our toes 

- a pied wagtail watched us as we watched it.

Moss enjoyed the wild water too

 - only - 

she is far more enthusiastic than I am when it comes to cold water!

#30dayswild - how cold do your toes go ?

Lunch in the Wild #30dayswild day 19

On Saturday, 

a beautifully sunny Saturday, 

a gloriously blue skied, 

green hilled and lightly breezed Saturday - Eldest was writing exams.  

Writing five (yes FIVE) exams 

on this beautifully sunny, 

gloriously blue skied, 

green hilled and lightly breezed day.  

So Himself and I decided to rescue him 

and whisk him away for a picnic lunch in the Forest of Bowland. 

I am so very glad we did.

Sitting at the side of a babbling burn, sun warming the air and our skins, swallows screaming over head and sheep quietly grazing just out of arm's reach, we ate what we affectionately call 'fat-egg-sarnies', fruit, nuts, tomatoes and cheese while drinking most welcome flask mugs of tea.

Eldest and Moss spent most of the time in the water, while Himself and I sat and chatted. The sounds of nature filled the air, a pheasant raucously crowing, swallows screaming, chaffinch trilling, sparrows chirruping, the occasional vehicle in the distance, the bubbling music only water can make as it tumbles over rock.

It was not quite shinrin-yoku (forest bathing) but it was just as rejuvenating and exam stress relieving as you can get.  The wonder of wilderness. 

And if you were wondering (you might not of course) what on earth 'fat-egg-sarnies' are, they are sliced hard boiled eggs tucked into fresh baguettes with layers of bell peppers, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, cheese and basil pesto sauce topped with a pinch of salt and generous lashings of ground black pepper.  Freshly made on the bank of the river. Now that can't be bad :)

#30dayswild - what have you done to soothe your soul recently?

Inspired by Rainbows #30DaysWild day 18

On the 30DaysWild Facebook page, 

I was impressed by folk making rainbows from flowers in their garden.

So with my camera and a bit of computer wizardry.....

...here is my effort -

Plus a poem that I feel encompasses not just the rainbow but the flower too.

It also is a very timely one - reminding us to look after what we have 

before it is too late and we lose it.

Where the wildflowers are

Let's walk hand in hand
where the wildflowers are.

Let's draw flowers
on an old VolksWagen car.

Let's plant seeds next
to every road.

Let's decorate the pavement,
with a flowery quote.

Let's start tending the rainbow
on the ground.

Let's just do something, 

before there's no flower to be found.

(Zonika van Zijl October 20l5) 

#30DaysWil - have you planted any wildflower seeds?

Cloud Dreaming #30dayswild day 17

I asked my suitably knowledgeable other half the other day - how much do clouds weigh?

His response was... 'in the region of a million pounds or over 450 metric tonnes'

I nearly fell off my seat.

Then, in the style of 'Chicken Little' I wondered if the sky would fall on my head....

and wondered why it hadn't done so before!!

Think about it.

All that water....

And you might ask, how on earth do you weigh a cloud?

Well, I have it on good authority (Himself again) that them-there-clever-scientific-cloggs

fly through a cloud and capture an amount of the water vapour.

Apparently cloud droplets are spherical and their density is already a known given, 

so the size and number of droplets are measured 

then multiplied by the volume of the cloud giving an approximate weight.

Job done.....

Himself then waffled on things called cubic centimeters, 

cloud types affecting cloud density... 

at this point my eyes glazed over....

 I perked up again when I thought on how beautiful they are.

How willful, 

thunderous,

wispy,

dramatic,

insignificant,

scudding,

silent,

noisy,

serene,

murderous, 

huge,

delicate...

and how very very important they are.

And as I type this, I stare out the window and watch mountainous lumps of white candy floss drift across my view. Huge gargantuan billowing structures that look as dense as freshly fallen snow yet are as transient and ethereal as....

as.... 

well ...

as mist or fog.....!!

They are the dreams of the sea.

They are the lungs of the earth.

They are the things of magic 

and imagination 

and science 

and wonder.

#30DaysWild - do you dream of clouds too?

Hotel building #30dayswild 16

Over half way and still so many random acts of wild to do!

Today's is a bit of a throwback, from July 2013 actually, when Youngest and I made three bug hotels. Two of the three are still in our garden, a little aged (aren't we all!) but still in active service and sheltering all sorts of creepy crawlies :)

It had been a hot week during July 2013 and over the weekend Eldest was doing his DofE. This meant we had a 'at a loss what to do' Youngest. So he and I decided (ok ok, I decided and he was dragged along) to build bug hotels.  We accumulated all sorts of dried material - pine cones, twigs, old chrimby wreathes, bamboo canes, dried leaves and sticks. We'd been given a rather rickety bedside set of drawers to chop up for kindling, however in my eyes it was the perfect frame to stuff full to create sneaky hiding places for insects.

 Youngest was a bit reluctant to help initially so I handed him the camera as I started. He soon joined in as he felt my efforts were not good enough! (My cunning plan worked then! hehehehe).

Himself rummaged around in his workshop and appeared with a small piece of roofing felt which was perfect to line the little cabinet and very soon Youngest was happily hammering away.

On a roll and now fortified by an iced drink Youngest with the help of Himself who'd supplied a couple of wooden drawers, started on the next bug hotel. By now I had been relegated to camera and support team. This one has not really stood the test of time - the pine cones lasted for the summer but by winter started to fall out. It's final demise was thanks to a large rambling rose falling down and dragging not only the arch but the bug hotel and dashing them to the floor.

Our third and final bug hotel has also succumbed somewhat to three winters but is still up and being lived in. Again it was the pine cones which initiated the decline however the slats of bark and bamboo canes were a success.

The cabinet bug hotel has moved around the garden over the years and now lives tucked in the bamboo where we suspect bees use - although they seem to appear and disappear from behind the hotel.

The two drawer hotels were not as successful but still used and in one case - still useful.

Youngest is now significantly taller than me and less likely to need 'entertaining' over a hot and 'boring' weekend. So, should any more bug hotels require construction, I suspect it will be just my camera and me :)

#30dayswild - what have you built for nature?

Unleash your inner artist #30DaysWild 15

As part of the #30DayWild hosted by The Wildlife Trusts UK, a rather wonderful list of suggestions has been supplied to encourage what they call ... '#A Random Act of Wildness'. Some of my blog posts I have had in mind for months and months and others have been inspired by that list.

Today's offering is from their list .... 'Unleash your inner artist' ... a bit of a cheat for me as I unleashed said inner artist about 8 months ago when I swapped my 'day job' with all the incumbent stresses, work pressures, less than ideal colleagues for wielding a paint brush, water colours and acrylics.

Without even a promise of fame or fortune - more a leap of faith into the dark. 

And although I will never be 'rolling in the dough' I am far happier, 

more healthy and I get to 'play' with paint.

 Now that can't be bad!

#30DaysWild - you can do it too