Tag Archives: nature

Walking the Fen

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I remember many years ago when we lived in Ohio my friend called me at 8am when, I admit, I was just becoming functional for the day.  "Hi!" she said.  
"Uh, Hi," said I.  
"The sun is out!!!"  She gleefully pointed out it had been something like 21 straight days of clouds and drizzle that winter. She was from San Diego and wilted in the drippy midwestern winters.  I didn't get it.  I had grown up in the upper midwest and moved to Germany and then Ohio.  Clouds were not all that noteworthy to me, at least not at 8am.  Having since lived in the American west and southwest I do get it now. 
When we woke to sun streaming in the windows after a similar stretch of drizzle I  began pummeling my husband with pillows insisting we GO somewhere.  Anywhere.  Outside.  And we did.  We decided to hike the Lakenheath Fen.  Despite the bright sun overhead it was still in the 40's and the wind was powerfully strong.  The boys and I were covered in mud by the time we got back to the car due to the muddy lanes and off roading we tend to do. 
 Walk with me, if you have a minute. I want to show you.  It was awesome.  I really needed some open air. 
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There is a board where local bird watchers make notes of recent sightings.  We didn't see anything too exotic but lots of ducks and swans.  And birdwatchers.  Hard core bird watchers.  I admit to some camera envy.  Holy cow.  The equipment there rivaled the sidelines of an NBA game. 

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If you look closely you see the blonde backs of some lowland cattle grazing in the tall grass prairie. 

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My guys.  This is where having some of each kind of kid is really nice.  My daughters generally love to walk with me, but not in the mud.  The boys are game for any kind of slop we may trudge through.  
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Throwing myself in this one.  A personal project this year is to get on the other side of the camera.  My family has made comments that I am virtually absent from many of our pictures and that has to change.  

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to the ponies

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The girls and I knew without a doubt from the minute we read the sign mentioning the Dartmoor ponies grazing on the grounds that we were going to do all we could to find them.  In the end, that meant a lot of walking through field and forest, some of that carrying Abbie Rose piggy back. 

Finally the trail opened onto this rugged grassland, the prairie all red and bowing in the warm autumn wind. 

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  Allen was the first to see them and redirected us off the beaten path and over to the pony pasture. 

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It was worth every step.

fear less, love more

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Nov 2012

On Letting Go
author unknown

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring. 
It means I can't do it for someone else.

To "let go" is not to cut myself off. 
It's the realization that I can't control another.

To "let go" is to admit powerlessness,
which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To "let go" is not to try to change or blame another. 
It's to make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To "let go" is not to be in the middle, arranging all the outcomes, 
but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To "let go" is not to deny, but to accept.

To "let go" is not to nag, scold, or argue, 
but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To "let go" is not to adjust everything to my desires, 
but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to regret the past, but to grow and live for the future.

To "let go" is to fear less and to love more.

 

Pheasant call

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Coming around the corner on the farm road we surprised several pheasants foraging around this mound.  I surprised my husband even more when I leapt out of the car to try to catch a shot.  Only caught one. 

Another morning after the time changed I stood in the open doorway as my husband was leaving for work. It was quite dark and still except for a loud call which sounded a lot like my old hens.  I guessed pheasant since they are fowl I believe. We checked against this audio and sure enough it was that.  

They are VERY loud fwiw and a little creepy when they are squawking in the dark within a few feet of you.  They are such a noble looking bird though.  

If you have another minute and want a quick chuckle, check out this link from the Daily Mail.  Apparently this British bird isn't minding his manners.  Might make me rethink stepping out that door at the break of dawn when I can't spot ours lol.  

Winter Walking with Abbie Rose

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It's different this year.  There is no more stroller in front of me. I am keenly aware of its absence I admit. For over a quarter century I have followed behind the wheels. But in place of the familiar hum of the axles spinning there is now a pair of tiny boots skipping, jumping, twirling.  There are two bitty hands reaching, digging, pointing, sharing. Treasures in hand, she trips along the trail joy-filled and breathless checking every puddle and ditchside weed.  And I am right behind, soaking it all in.

Someday – too soon – she will venture farther than I can follow. For today, though, we walk together. I am grateful for every step. 

Feb
As we walked this day I felt a coin in my coat pocket. (pictured above) It wasn't a Euro and the saint caught my eye.  When I came home I looked it up.  It is Bulgarian and commemorates St Ivan of Rila (Rilski). You can see it here.  Allen or Zach must have picked it up in Poland, Czech Republic, or Turkey is our best guess. Just made me laugh.  How crazy that this is my life!   I am grateful for this too. : )