The Uneasy Watchers

My recent wanders seem to have shown a different side to the woodlands from my usual peaceful meanderings after twilight. Arrangements and appointments have left me walking in the early morning and early evenings during daylight hours, with the light I decided to reacquaint myself with area of the wood I normally steer clear of. It would appear little has changed in the areas accessible by vehicles. A usual array of closely parked clandestine vehicles with shady sorts talking in hushed voices positioned themselves just off the car park road under cover of the tree canopy and foliage. Heads turned and conversations stopped as I passed by. One of the trees was adorned with the the word "weed" painted in red paint across its trunk and patches of fast food litter lay about where I suspect they had been cast from parked car windows.

Once away from the vehicles and road the serenity of the woods returned. The clatter of the wood pigeons wings was the only sound to raise itself above the gentle breeze in the trees, the shafts of sunlight seemed to shift and move in time with the movement of air. Many of the smaller paths had become choked with undergrowth leaving only the main paths clear and easily passible. I headed for a place where an old watch tower once stood but was disappointed to find only the rotten remains of its main structure ripped to the ground and scattered among the trees. On finally finding a clear small path I decided to change course and found myself treading carefully around deep tire ruts from heavy machinery which had long since passed by. At the paths end I appeared at a small car park deep within the woods. One vehicle positioned itself at the head of the car park, its owner gawping at me out of an open window with his head resonating with the battering of drum and base from a stereo possibly more powerful than the engine. I returned to the smaller tracks and made my way round and back in the direction of home.

Again the serenity of the woods returned to me like a welcome shroud, I found myself stepping over small fallen branches and ducking beneath the low canopy. One of my dog pack stopped to scoff a few blackberries from a trail side bramble, I have had the company of many dogs over the years but he has been the first to show me such a skill and never a cut mouth from the thorns close by the fruit. With the walk approaching an end I found the trail passing through a ditch. The summer had left the bottom of the ditch quite dry but the presence and arrangement of planks showed the footholds to avoid topping out a boot in the winter months. To the side a makeshift fence or handrail had been dug into the sides of the ditch. Standing in the bottom of the ditch it seemed the world was a silent place barely touched by the wind overhead, after enjoying the peace for a moment I carried on, back towards the car park area where stares and uneasy sideways glances would await my passing intrusion on in the world of the secretive and unwelcoming watchers.

A Key Within the Mind

I am rarely alone when I walk the woodland tracks at night, my dogs are good company and the breeze through the darkened leaves whispers gentle songs to flow around me as I make my way through nature's time and space. On occasion something malicious travels with me like a deranged creature muttering spiteful thoughts to interrupt the gentle songs on the breeze.

Last week I suffered one of these presences, normally as I walk the mutterings lessen as if it tires of following me and pales into insignificance beneath the sight of the stars, but not so this time. I stepped away from a life of corporate advancement many years ago when I realised I was becoming someone I did not like, but recent circumstances has pushed me back towards dealing with some of the personality types I used to come into contact with on a daily basis. Their office games and methods have pushed their way back into my work and I have found the thoughts clinging and lingering past the closing of the office doors.

As I wandered my thoughts would clear but were soon snapped back to dealing with issues that had no place within the woodlands. I could feel my anger growing both with the situation and with my inability to throw the thoughts from my mind and gain a little peace. I find an enraged mind is a little like a caged wild creature, it lashes out at those who stray close to the cage regardless of their intentions or well meanings. I decided it was time to deal with the issue and put things into perspective before those close to me could begin to suffer.

I walked with my pack and the demon within my mind to the western edge of the wood where the twilight from the sunken sun still set the horizon aglow and I stood beneath the canopy edge. As space, light and landscape stretched before me I began to gain a sense of the scale of the movement of planets and stars turning in space. I also began to flick through images and sounds within my mind to draw relevance to the scene before me, sounds seemed to fall into place to accompany the songs of the breeze and after a while a song I had enjoyed but not listened to for many years began to play (here is a link to the song, however I do believe that anyone else who searches for a song, text or image to gain a connection to the wider world and their place within space & time will have their own, and these will be of far more relevance to the person who searches them out) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1pyvnw9Sko

As my mind became calmer and resonated, the thoughts that had previously plagued me faded and vanished. I was relived I had not looked for distraction from my own mind. The distractions of sports and entertainments seem to fill the minds of many I have worked with and they seem to reach a point of obsession as pressures grow, but for me distractions are short lived cures for my problems, to turn a key within the mind to gain connection and perspective brings a comprehension and steers me away from the "head in the sand" cure.

The Bones of a Shelter

With the storm clouds building overhead and the distant rumble of thunder passing across the woodland I stepped off the wide track and onto the woodland floor beneath the dense canopy of the conifers. The woodland floor was carpeted with fallen pine needles and lay barren of the undergrowth that flourished in other areas close by. Before me lay abandoned shelters, their framework resembled the exposed carcass of a long dead beast clustered around the tall trunks of the pine trees.

I walked amongst the structures as the first drops of rain tapped into the canopy overhead. The frames had lasted many years but the covering of branches and fallen debris had slipped to the base of the frames or had been carried away in the passing of time. Some shelters would have comfortably held a single soul for a night or two, others were bigger and must have held a few occupants. I smiled as I stood among the rustic ruins, it appeared the youths from the village near by had received instruction on how to put together these shelters and had no doubt enjoyed some time in the company of friends and mentors in the past.

In the failing light and the approaching storm the bones of the shelters could have passed as a woodland sculpture. A bold statement of form and function harvested from the surrounding environment and gently decaying in harmony with its surroundings. Earlier in the evening I had passed the remains of another abandoned camp, a budget tent lay broken and strewn with plastic bags, its decay was far less harmonious and brought the traces of a throw away culture to a place that should be treated with a greater respect.

I allowed the images of the harvested shelters to fill my mind for a moment, I suspect it had been many years since the woodland floor had been used for teaching and enjoyment in such a way. I hope the sight of the shelters will spark a fond image and perhaps encourage another group to enjoy the experience.

Contrast of Night & Day

Earlier this week I was reminded of my past life, sitting in an uncomfortable humid heat within a clients office I watched as staff became ill at ease with each other and the tasks passed to them by management. I remember well the feelings of striving for promotion and struggling with systems and instructions made by those who are not hands on with the projects on a daily basis. It was a relief to leave the office at the end of the day, but such relief was short lived as I sat on congested roads for two hours steadily baking in my own sweat with the sounds and smells of combustion engines around me.

It was early evening by the time I arrived back at my hovel and after taking care of a few tasks I decided to take two of my dog pack for a wander to help clear my head and enjoy the cooling air. Low clouds obscured the twilight sky depriving me of the vision of the emerging stars between the trees as I set off on familiar tracks and the issues of the day were still turning in my mind in an attempt to distract me from the here and now. It was perhaps a quarter of a mile before I could feel myself beginning to relax and enjoy freedom of movement as the muscles began to shed the tensions of the day.

I emerged from the cover of trees into a wide clearing on a broad and little used vehicle track. A sharp call cut through the breeze and caught my attention, turning I watched two sparrowhawks chasing each other through the young trees in the clearing, vanishing for the briefest moments in the lengthening shadows before reappearing within ten yards of me and circling around me calling as they went. I gained the impression they were not hostile to each other and were perhaps young hawks enjoying their last flight of the day before settling for the night. As they sped away into the far reaches of the clearing I lost sight of them and carried on to the tree line and turned to the smaller tracks.

My two dogs trotted ahead into the gloom, eager to stretch their legs and enjoy their freedom until I was aware of the sounds of growling and scuffling from the track in front of me. I assumed they had perhaps come across a stray dog and I ran forward to ensure a fight would be quickly stopped. I was surprised to find my two dogs either side of a badger, needless to say the badger was not happy about the canines following and investigating as he trotted towards me. The badger stopped for a moment as he realised I was blocking his escape along the path. Standing to the side of the path I created a gap for the badger to escape, the creature scurried by and was only perhaps three feet from me as he accelerated past and into the shadows. It took a few stern commands to prevent the dogs chasing him as they followed their instincts.

Returning to our journey it was only a short distance before we came across another night creature lurking at the edge of the wood with the boundary of a sheep field. Both dogs halted and held their gaze to a vixen watching the sheep. The vixen soon realised her position was exposed and in a flurry of movement sped for a gap in the fence and sprinted across the open field. Again it took stern commands to the dogs to prevent them from giving chase, but I was rewarded by the sight of her escaping to the hedges beyond the open ground.

With a journey of such sights it was little wonder I was calmer and happier by the time we reached the last of the woodland trails and began heading for home. It was a relief I had not given in to the temptations of a chair and the distractions of the TV, within the twilight I had been given far greater gifts.

The Urban Forager

On the back road hidden among the urban sprawl lights from the takeaway and the street lamps bathed the tarmac and the parked cars in an unnatural glow and contrasted with the deep shadows beyond their reach. Passing headlights and the drone of engines passed by on the main road at the top of the embankment above me and the occasional footfalls and conversations of people walked by filled the air between the passing vehicles. I leaned against my aging car and enjoyed a quieter moment in an area that becomes intolerably cluttered with noise and the passing of vehicles and people during the day.

A shifting from the shadows and undergrowth of the embankment before me caught my attention, a rat appeared from cover and scampered across to the litter bin some ten feet or so away from me. I remained motionless as the creature gathered itself and sprang from the embankment to the rim of the bin before diving inside and emerging a few moments later with a mouthful of takeaway food. In a swift movement he sprang back into the cover of the shrubs and vanished. A little patience rewarded me with more sightings of the tenacious creature as he returned time and time again to scavenge the scraps from the litter bin.

I have never found fear in watching such creatures, just a willingness to understand their resourcefulness, the lack of wild predators combined with the busy road to keep the domestic cats at bay, together with the ready supply of thrown away food provides them with such rich pickings. it is little wonder they go beyond survival into thriving and flourishing. It seems our transient existence and throw away culture suits such creatures. Watching the movements of the creature I found it to be both powerful and agile for its size. Leaps to and from from the edge of the bin to the floor three feet below were achieved with ease and even grace. Watching the passers by and listening to their conversations about current trivia and sports I was hardly surprised to find I had more empathy and understanding with the rat.

Within the urban night, nature has shown me where there is abundance a creature will emerge to take advantage. If the thought of such creatures is abhorrent, perhaps we should look at the abundance we have given them and why the predators who would naturally control the numbers are prevented from doing so. No doubt someone will soon contact the local authority about the bold forager and insist they send a "man" round to deal with the problem. I doubt the issue will be looked at in any depth, just another short term solution involving poisons will be the likely outcome.

A Seat in the Canopy

Line after line of tall conifers stood to attention either side of the worn earth trail. Each passing step provided the same hypnotic effect as the planted lines revealed themselves and it seemed only the undergrowth provided the aspects of random nature around the base of the trunks and scattered the regular patterns of the shadows off the setting sun. A subtle twist in the path ahead signaled the end of the plantation area and the sight of self seeded silver birch and taller undergrowth began a gentle sprawl back to the impression of a woodland forming its way in its own time.

I followed the turn in the path and began stepping towards the edge of the wood in what was rapidly becoming twilight. Oaks lay on the western edge of the wood against the boundary with the fields, lining the dry ditch and overhanging the arable crop rustling gently in the slight breeze beyond. Propped against one of the straighter trunks of the last trees was a giant ladder formed of branches from the woodland. To the top of the ladder sturdier timbers formed a seat and backrest setting a chair among the lower canopy with a makeshift handrail to give security to those who would trouble themselves to climb the lookout.

The sight of the simple structure brought back fond memories of tree houses and the excitement of climbing in childhood years. I found it a shame that the lookout viewed over the field and not the woodland, but it was perhaps built for providing a vantage for those who cared for any livestock that may have roamed the field in past years. Within my mind I became aware of the possibility that I could well be mistaken regarding its purpose. Perhaps it could have been built for the fun of it. If something is built for the reason of an alternative perspective and enjoyment itself from such modest means as the fallen materials around the area it could indeed hold qualities way beyond the utility.

Depth of Perception

Walking the woods and trails will always give a fine sight of nature and its beauty. Looking to a distant vista, colours and composition of landscape sit before the eyes and in our mind we are the artist or photographer capturing the image to our living memories. Before you walk away from such a sight I would like to encourage you to stay a while longer and look more deeply.

Our perception is often linked to the moment, to look beyond the moment into the past or the possible futures opens the mind to a greater picture. To see the trees in a younger state struggling their way clear of the undergrowth, the ruins or marks on the landscape once part of a way of life and now just a hint at the toils of another human through the mists of time.

The colours of the earth and the flora will give the clues needed to establish the qualities of land beneath your feet, from clay to stone to fertile earth. The pools and weirs of the streams and rivers define the energy of gravity and rainfall, the type and size of fish and their likely food source from the smallest of plants by the waterside. The water should also be a window on the bed beneath. Hills and mountains demonstrate the greater movements of plates, glaciers and the effect of earth upon water and air. To see a torrential downpour channelled to a stream or the fine mists forming in the low lands as the earth releases its moisture to the air. To see light and shadow change as the turning of the earth alters the suns rays and reflected moonlight on the scene before the senses.

Looking beyond the moment is not easy, the mind can sometimes find distractions to disturb the thoughts and send us into a world of dreaming. But on occasion it will be a scent, a sound or a sight that will give us signals of what lies beyond.

Perhaps it is the way we are taught to think that limits our perceptions, teaching aspects of life in neatly contained categories to allow for easy assessment. But to step outside of these limits and look at the world in an interconnected way passing beyond a subject or a moment into a journey and purpose can be liberating. To draw our full attention to a task in the moment is a fine and most rewarding thing, it can clear stagnant thoughts from the mind but to take that clear mind and give it the ability to change mindset and perceptions to the wider picture takes us beyond that point in the moment to the realms beyond.