What a gorgeous evening. I had no real plans for tonight but seeing that a decent sunset might be on the cards it would have been rude not to take advantage. Ambling up into the hills the distinctive sweet smell of Bracken hit me immediately, its foliage dense and dominating. Behind me ripe Gorse seed pods could be heard popping intermittently whilst overhead a single Skylark was giving it his all. Then all of a sudden crashing through this tranquillity came a passing flock of Linnets, their agitated calls a crescendo of noise sitting starkly at odds with the prevailing feeling of calm. All this I took in initially as an outside observer, not feeling part of the beauty around me. It was only as the moments slowly passed and I began to pick up on tiny changes in my surroundings that a sense of belonging began to emerge.

A Rabbit rustled unseen just meters from my feet.

In the valley one of our local Woodpigeons clumsily crashed through the trees.

Would they too be picking up on my impingements into this microcosm of our world, an almost insignificant piece of the bigger picture but one which at that moment I wouldn’t have traded for anywhere else?

P1090536 - Sunset

The light was absolutely fantastic and began to change dramatically as the sun set. First the Skylark ceased then the smell of Bracken rapidly dissipated as temperatures plunged. Watching the sun I felt like I had plenty of time to play with yet a few minutes later it was as if a dimmer switch had been turned and I was left watching it sinking visibly out of sight.

P1090546 - Sunset
P1090539 - Sunset
P1090551 - Sunset

What had been a balmy evening was now chilly and with it came a new feeling of urgency as the land and its inhabitants rushed towards the changing of the guard. On broad wings a Grey Heron drifted by on route to its evening roost whilst off in the distance I could just make out what sounded like the calls of a Tawny Owl. Stood their alone I felt privileged to have borne witness to these moments, unique in their details and preserved only through my memories.


1 Comment

In Which I · July 7, 2017 at 12:06 pm

Gorgeous! I bet you're proud of the orange-gold photo of the bracken. 🙂

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