30 Days Wild

Throughout June we've been taking part in the month long nature challenge with the Wildlife Trust - 30 Days Wild.  As the name suggests,  the idea is to do a random act of wildness each day for thirty days, in order to feel healthier, happier and better connected with the natural world around us.

As far as challenges go, this one sounded rather appealing. We already spend a lot of our time outdoors, but I thought we could use this month as an opportunity to really take notice of our surroundings and, hopefully, learn a little along the way.

We've been hiking, bird-watching, planting wildflower seeds and sunflowers, tree hugging (and climbing), playing Poohsticks, identifying flowers and examining a whole host of insects and other minibeasts. In the middle of the month we even took part in a wildflower survey with our local Wildlife Trust. Each morning on our way to school Lily has been looking for froghoppers and has been enjoying reading her book on garden bugs, learning all their names and delighting in telling me what they are. We've really enjoyed ourselves and, although we haven't always managed to fit something in to every single day, I think we made up for it at other times.

Here I'm sharing some of the photographs I have taken during the challenge. 

                            

                                    

J. X

Summer Solstice

For me, the first day of summer was one of quiet contentment. One of those days when life just feels good, that if I could I would re-live it all over again.

The day began as usual, but once work and chores were out of the way I spent much of the afternoon in the garden. The morning's cloud cover had disappeared, giving way to a gloriously clear blue sky and once I had planted out Lily's birthday sunflowers, I sat for a while and enjoyed some elderflower cordial in the bright sunshine. I wasn't alone for long, however, as I suddenly felt a familiar nudge against my leg - Mog had crept out of the house to join me following her long morning sleep, quickly jumping up onto the table expecting a fuss. She can be incredibly gentle and affectionate when she chooses to be. You would never think that recently she generously gifted us ten mice in just over three days. Ten!!!

Our strawberries have begun to ripen now and they looked so very tempting to me but, at her insistence, I left them for Lily to pick when she arrived home from school. And they were definitely worth the wait, so very sweet and delicious. 

In the evening I went for a run along the canal towpath,  through the fields and out past the village. The air was still incredibly warm at this time. The track, bordered with an abundance of wildflowers, welcomed bees and butterflies, with the sound of crickets in the long grass breaking the quiet.

Even later that evening, my friend and I went for a walk up Gummer's How, overlooking Windermere. We chatted, drank coffee and laughed a lot as the air turned chilly, the light began to fade and we watched the sun set on the longest day of the year.

J. X

I Love to Go a Wandering....

Between Monday and Friday each week my days are fairly predictable. I get up as soon as my alarm goes off, or when Lily wakes, whichever is earlier (usually Lily!). Then there is the usual hurried morning routine of breakfast, making Lily's lunch, and getting washed, dressed and out of the house in time for work and school.

At the weekend we try and do things a little differently. Although I don't bother setting the alarm, we are still usually awake bright and early, especially at this time of year with the lighter mornings. I don't mind as it gives us a head start. We enjoy a slightly more relaxed breakfast, I make up a lunch, then we get washed and dressed and out of the house, but this time for an adventure.

We are very fortunate in that there are so many great places available to explore right on our doorstep, and we like to make the most of this whenever we have the opportunity. Recently, however, we haven't really spent any time on the fells. In fact, I think the last one we climbed was Silver How back in January, so I'm hoping an improvement in the weather will see us getting out walking more often. Therefore, in a bid to ease ourselves in gently, last weekend I suggested a climb up Helm Crag. Helm Crag is one of the lower fells, just north of Grasmere, which is easily accessible and a reasonably short walk.

The pathway was quite steep in places, but there were plenty of opportunities to stop, catch our breath and admire the view. For the most part the weather was overcast, yet bright, although as you can see from the first photograph, there was a brief glimpse of blue sky. The track was lined with bracken and so many pink foxgloves which are in flower at the moment or, as Lily likes to call them, foxy gloves! Occasionally we would catch sight of some of the many sheep in amongst the bracken and we could clearly hear a  woodpecker somewhere in the trees down below us.

It was quite windy on the summit, so we didn't hang around too long and, after a quick scramble onto the Lion rock - the highest point - we instead chose to eat our picnic lunch on our descent to Far Easedale.

Before long we were back down in the valley making our return to the village, where we always make time for a visit to the park and a game of Poohsticks at the river. Also, I might just have bought some Grasmere Gingerbread as a treat for that evening. It was delicious. 😊

Although this weekend the weather has been very mixed, I was determined to get out and gather some elderflowers for this year's cordial making (recipe on sidebar), before I left it too late. Fortunately I timed it just right, as there is an abundance of delightfully fragranced flowers lining the hedgerows right now and, along with  a quiet walk through the woods and fields, it was a lovely way of spending our morning. And it was so quiet. I'm sure we had the whole woods to ourselves. We saw rabbits, squirrels and all kinds of mini beasts and flowers. Lily has a fascination with  all of these, especially at the moment, as we are participating in the Wildlife Trust's '30 Days Wild' nature challenge, which I will share more of later in the month.

In the meantime, if we could just have some sunny weather.....

 

J. X