Do not let Sunday be taken from you. If your soul has no Sunday, it becomes an orphan.
Unusually for me I leapt from bed like a salmon making for the spawning grounds this morning. I haven’t actually discovered a new enthusiasm for 5 am, I just overslept until the back-up alarm went off at 5.25. That left me with 35 minutes to get up and get Julia to work. Assuming that I get my socks on first shot and don’t get into a fight with my trousers, this is plenty of time as there is no traffic at that time of day.
Fortunately my clothing cooperated and all went well.
Just after 6.00 I was back home and catching up on WordPress reading. At 7.00 my alarm alerted me to the opening of the launderette. I have to set alarms these days as my memory is not great and I tend to nap at inconvenient times. After loading the big machine for a hot wash I had 59 minutes to kill, which I accomplished with breakfast at McDonalds, writing a shopping list and making holiday plans for September.
I haven’t been to Burntstump Country Park for five years or so; it used to have a pond with a colony of water voles. They were pushed out by rats, and I never felt as good about visiting after that. Today, I thought, was a good day for a visit. It wasn’t.
The woodland was full of birdsong and I even saw the occasional bird, despite the best efforts of assorted dog walkers loudly calling their dogs, training their dogs and squeezing squeaky toys at their dogs. It seems to be a favoured meeting place for people with loud voices and badly trained dogs.
They weren’t, before anyone jumps in, doing anything illegal. Individually they weren’t even that obtrusive, just a bit noisy and disruptive to my attempts at bird photography. Unfortunately there were dozens of them. Some worked in ones and twos, others formed a group in the middle of the park and made a lot of noise. Another group, numbering dozens, if not hundreds, gathered for a massed walk. It was canine bedlam.
I shopped on the way home, ate lunch (prepared by Number Two son) and watched Sharpe. King Solomon’s Mines then came on. I liked the book, but the Patrick Swayze film could be bottled and sold as a cure for insomnia. It worked for me.
Having picked Julia up from work we bought ice cream on the way home and are currently winding down. I’n good at winding down.
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Lovely shots of the wood, despite the dog fraternity.
I could hear them but not see them. 🙂
All the photos of the park are beautiful, Quercus. Sorry it was noisy. Humans are noisy creatures. 🙂
They are when you give them a dog tp train. 🙂
Maybe noisy people with badly behaved dogs have their own support group. Somewhere, on some god-forsaken forum they are probably berating contemplative bird-watchers for ruining the stressed-out, fractious ambience of the park? I love the last photo – it reminds me of a documentary I saw about David Hockney who, at the time, was experimenting with what he called ‘joiner photography’ I think.
I quite like the effect but I try only to use it once a year. 🙂
Yes, they are probably all blogging about the bloke who got in their way and never once squeaked a toy.
Dog walkers and peaceful contemplation of nature are not compatible….and on top of that you have to watch where you are putting your feet. Mind you, I got crapped on by a gull when I was out cycling today so it is not just dogs.
Sometimes it’s just that sort of day. 🙂
It’s a good thing dogs don’t fly, as they could easily render you unconcious with a direct hit.
I’ve heard that if it is a pigeon, it is supposed to be good luck. 🙂
I’ve heard that – but never actually from anyone with pigeon poo on them. 🙂
If it hadn’t been for the photos of so many dogs and their human companions, I’d not have believed the park could be an unpleasant day out. The park itself looks magnificent. Another place for me to think about visiting.
I always used to go during the week – I was surprised by how busy it was on a Sunday morning. It has a lot of wikd garlic in spring and used to be a good place to see Jays.
Maybe we’ll try it on a Monday afternoon instead….
Good plan I’m sure you’ll find it more restful than I did on Sunday. 🙂
I hope you 😃
Quite a day. Glad you got your socks on first shot. What a wonderful collage of the trees and the woods. Wowzah!
Socks are assuming a more central place in my mornings as my knees stiffen. 🙂
Same here! Darned creaky knees. Good thing I have a flexible spine and can bend easily, despite my chubby waistline.
I think back nostalgically to the days when I was merely chubby…
I might be understating the case. 😉
Not with all that cycling and gardening! 🙂
Some excellent galleries. At this time of the year I stay in sandals which obviates the need for socks – especially useful at the moment 🙂
Good thinking. I will consider the ramifications of sockless living before making a decision. Extending the line of thought, a kilt might do away with my trouser troubles. 🙂
Currently I am living in loose track suit bottoms 🙂
A serviceable and often under-appreciated option…
My future son-in-law wears a kilt now and then. He isn’t Scottish.
They look quite smart and are, it seems, quite practical – apart from in high winds and when climbing ladders.
As we women know! Stout underpinnings are needed in such cases or an extremely blasé attitude. 😀
🙂
Lovely photos.
Thank you. I’d forgotten how beautiful it was at Burntstump.
I’ve been with Family, for family gatherings, which sadly do not occur as much which is a shame. 😕
🙂
You seem to have had a beautiful, peaceful Sunday.