Turbulent Pools

Standing in a doorway I looked out into the night sky. The stars and moon were obscured by heavy cloud and a torrent rain drops shone for the shortest moment as they hurtled past a street light and smashed into the growing pool of water on the car park floor. The autumn rain strayed slightly on a gust of wind and my hands and face became dappled with its cool touch as I stood motionless in the door. While the tactile experience was pleasant for the briefest moment, the coldness it carried served as a reminder of the falling temperatures and vulnerable nature of the human form against the elements and the turning of the seasons.

My eyes were drawn to the shifting patterns of light and water at the base of the street light. In my travels that evening I had seen the same forms in many locations. Pedestrians scurried around the pools before passing vehicles sent the water erupting into the air and crashing onto the pavements. Within the woodlands and wilder areas the rain would be battering onto the fallen leaves and low grasses before seeping into the ground to sustain the flora & fauna, but in the urban realm it builds, waiting for overloaded drains and sewers to carry it to the low lands to pass on the flooding problem or filtering to a soft verge where the ground quickly becomes waterlogged and the vegetation sits stranded keeping its leaves and blades held aloft as its roots become drenched.

The turbulent pools serve me a reminder of the overcrowding we are subject to in these lands. Swathes of nature are replaced by tarmac and roof. The run off swamps the soft grounds (or a part Sustainable Urban Drainage System as developers like to call them) and fill the rivers. The power and wealth of these lands is its rainfall, but the only way to manage and harness it is to understand nature, landscape, geology and ecology. Still, we grow and we build in the hope of economic revival. It seems overcrowding is like an elephant in the room, an unwanted and unpopular word while politically minded people talk about growing the economy, building more roads and houses.

I wonder how long before we are drowning in our own wealth.

Past Grace

A creeping sense of inevitability found its way into my mind as I walked my way down a country lane within the early darkening hours. Ahead of me I could see approaching headlights flickering a white light through the roadside hedgerows. I had with me a small lantern and I brought it to life in the hope of the cars occupants recognising another traveller in the quiet lands. The car sped around the corner in front of me and did me little more courtesy than remain on their side of the road. The driver made no attempt to slow down or take their headlights from the full beam. Blinded by the light I was forced to stop before I stumbled on the verge or tripped within one of the potholes festooning the poorly maintained roads.

As the car raced by me I was left muttering a few curses. It would appear I will be needing to remember to bring with me a lantern I refer to as a light cannon. The beam is extremely powerful and is often used to serve a reminder to the cocooned motorist to at least dip their lights for those of us who are more vulnerable on the roads.

Once I had regained something of my night vision I carried on with the little lantern spilling a gentle pool of light around my feet. I brought to my thoughts a sight I enjoyed a few weeks ago to add a little reason and peace of mind. For a time I stood within the early autumn sunshine and cast my eyes on an old MG sports car. The car seemed to resonate with both the care of the craftsman who made it and the care of the owner who clearly spent time and effort looking after the machine. Even to a layman such as I, it was obvious the MG allowed a sense of connection on a number of levels. It did not cocoon the driver from the elements or the road. It also held a beauty beyond many of its modern counterparts. It would struggle to match even a modest modern car with its performance and statistics. I imagined it would not be the best vehicle to sit in the traffic or travel at night in, but for those times when its owner took it for a spin on a warm afternoon it would probably be a true pleasure.

It seems to fill in many of the blanks many modern designers miss as they strive to hit enforced targets and economies. Sitting humans within a safe little bubble is understandable, but to encourage a connection, an empathy and a sense of joy is something of a far greater achievement. Perhaps if people could begin to feel that connection again, the value of things can be measured in more than facts and figures, but with emotions.

Wonders of the Elemental World

With senses awakened to the night, the power and subtlety of the elements can reveal themselves to the perceptions. I have always enjoyed the old chinese tales and methods of understanding the elements. Each element having a yin and a yang aspect, there are also 5 elements to their understanding rather than the 4 we are used to in western culture.

Within the moonlight the woods can be a gentle sway of saplings, quiet standing of deadwood through to the towering spreading oak and the ferocious bending of branches of trees within a storm.

With regard to fire, it can be the gentle, contained warmth of the camp fire through to a raging uncontrolled menace lighting the horizon. I could continue all night to relate tales of beauty and extremes but such memories and connections are best left to everyones own experiences where they will shine through the years of conscious thought.

As humans evolve and absorb ourselves in our own cleverness and invention. Living within our cocoons I feel it is so easy to loose our empathy not only with nature but with the interconnected aspects of the elements. When we need light or warmth we reach for a switch to draw on distant electricity sources to illuminate the bulb or warm the heater. All so easy, all so remote. The flick of the switch disconnects us from our true world and ties us to the charges and finances of distant investors and stakeholders.

To reconnect with our more primal aspects and experiences can be like an absurd bolt from the darkness for us civilised westerners used to being so pampered and paying so dearly for the privilege we perceive as a right. To reclaim knowledge and understanding from the realms of earth, fire, water and air, or for others the realms of metal, wood, earth, fire and water is truly empowering and can awaken older knowledges and understandings. When we have such aspects, the world becomes more a remarkable place. Casting pleasure and warnings from the visions before us, always speaking truths beyond language.

A Threat to Badgers

When people find out about my wanderings I am often asked questions or provided with advice. I am usually happy to chat with people, it is surprising what can be learned. However as I have mentioned in a few blog posts what I learn is not always what people wish to teach me.

On a few occasions I have been told I should be careful of badgers. I have been told they are aggressive and are likely to injure my dogs or possibly even myself. Those who tell me such things have often heard tales from friends of friends and relate them to me with the best of intentions. I have walked at night for over two decades now and I have encountered badgers on a few occasions. As with all wildlife I try to give them space and not disturb them but there has been a couple of occasions where I have literally bumped into them on a narrow track. The dogs are of course fascinated with the sturdy creature standing before them and do wander up to investigate, much to the badgers annoyance. In such circumstances I call the dogs back to me and create an opportunity for the badger to wander off or bypass me (on one occasion the dogs were behind the badger so I stepped from the path to allow the badger to run past me). By giving the badgers what space I can, I have never once had a dog or a badger injured.

A couple of weeks ago I got the news of the governments plans to begin culling badgers to prevent the spread of bovine TB. After doing some reading around I was surprised to find this was being proposed despite evidence showing it is highly unlikely to have any effect. It took only a few moments to check the twitter streams of others who I have found to be people well worth listening too. Ginny @ginbat and Si Jakes @Shyman33 amongst others were equally concerned about the cull, something I regard as a reckless action against uk wildlife and biodiversity.

I find myself wondering at the forces behind this cull and the politicians who support it. I can understand a farmer who has suffered from the loss of cattle because of bovine TB will be trying to do what they can to protect their business. But there are far wider implications, removing an animal from a local ecosystem is foolish, it should also be a priority to work with the natural balance of the lands. While the media pump out tale after tale of financial hardship it seems the lands and nature have become a poor second place to the economy. From my perspective the economy is similar in many ways to nature and indeed is linked to it. It cannot continually grow, it must find a balance. To try and force an economy or growth at the expense of nature and resource is a dangerous path indeed. The badger cull is certainly one of those actions I consider to be of this ilk.

If you have not done so already and are a UK resident, please consider signing the e-petition against the cull

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/38257

With thanks

Owl

Strolling Part 2

Over the last couple of weekends I have been helping my good lady out by taking her to a few places she wanted to go. I took my sketchbook along to capture a few thoughts and scenes. 

Just about everywhere we went I was greeted by a similar view of curved bodywork, glass and graphics. Parked in on roadsides, fields, villages and suburbs, the car was prolific. From pride and joy to the humble family workhorse, I found them sitting in the foreground or scattered across a distant landscape.

I grabbed a coffee and sat outside a cafe for a while. Before me was a pedestrian crossing, I watched as vehicles stopped to allow people to cross, drivers muttered as they suffered a short wait and seemed displeased when they were not acknowledged by those walking the white lined tarmac.

I turned my gaze to my left and looked upon a simple street scene. Within my mind I removed the lines of cars and the graphics of the shops and businesses. I then drew down what I saw. Beyond the modern mayhem was a simple village home set against a backdrop of trees and a small church. Something quite serene.

Some look at what is in front of them, some look to future possibilities. Perhaps it is worth seeing the quietness beneath and the hard work, craft, experiences and understanding within the distant past still living before our eyes.

A Summer Requiem

The blessings of the early autumn twilight fill my eyes and a gentle cooling breath sighs across my skin. It has been a while since I walked the dark depths of the Nottinghamshire woodlands in the quiet of night. In the latter days of summer many issues have sought to distract me and hold me from my wanders. Moonlight has been replaced by the glow of the computer screen and the electric light as I have made my way through planning documents, policies and statements as I have looked into the ways and reasoning of developers to lay claim to the diminishing green lands of the county. I have seen disregard for issues of wildlife and biodiversity. I have seen the District Council lend their support to ill considered proposals and statements of deception from a planning consultant intent on claiming reward from a game they play with land they do not care about. Standing beneath the clear night sky I listened to the lone hoots of a Tawny Owl calling across the still woodland clearing. I am reminded of why I make the effort to do what I can to try and get people to see sense and see what is of real value within these isles.

I place my mind away from the paperwork and into the snatched moments of my summer wanders. One country lane has provided particular inspiration amongst the warm summer breezes and clouds of insects. One evening brought a charge of hares, racing down the lane in play and rivalry they tore headlong towards me and the pack. For a few seconds we stood in amazement at the folly of their actions, my german shepherds leapt into a counter charge to meet the hares head on. It was almost to late for the hares as they realised their predicament, in an instant they scattered off the lane towards ditch, hedgerow and the uncut fields of wheat. Jaws snapped and claws scrabbled upon the worn tarmac, fortunately the hares made the narrowest of escapes. Another evening brought the whisper of wing beats from the barn owl, soaring from the hedge and passing close to me in the evening light. The owl swept up into the sturdy lower branches of an old roadside tree and settled for a moment. I stood still and looked up into the branches, a white face peered around the branch to return my gaze for a precious few seconds before taking to the air again and skimming across the wheat field to find a more remote vantage point to catch a glimpse of the small mammals hiding within the crops.

This is the sceptered isle and there are wonders to behold, but it saddens me to know that many have ceased to look and denied themselves the understanding of balance and nature. On my return to my hovel it only took a moment to gaze within the realm of modern media to flood the mind with tales of decapitated soap stars, the announcements of economy obsessed ministers willing to sacrifice everything they can to give false promises of kick starting a failing financial system and the constant flag waving and parading of sports people to try and give a feel good factor to a gullible modern world I can only think of as self obsessed and insane.

My stroll into the dark depths of the woodland brought me peace, but also a moment of sadness. A woodland area where I had once had the fortune to follow a Tawny Owl through a dense woodland trail had been cleared. All that remains are the memories and thoughts I have written down in the post Master of the May Wood. However at least the woodland will have chance to re grow and new life will breathe into the cleared area even if it takes many years.

Evading the Lampers

The events of the last couple of weeks had taken their toll upon me. Days of dealing with two faced contractors & their political games followed by nights of reading planning documentation, checking policies, finding unsaid truths and unravelling statements designed to mislead had left me physically tired and mentally stretched. In the early evening I sat on the back step of the hovel and watched the full moon over the fields and crops. Gentle hints of colour seemed to shift in the bright white light and I could find a moment to relax. I stepped inside as I felt a heaviness creep over my limbs and sat within the folds of a comfortable chair. It was not long before sleep took hold and hours slipped by with the tumbling images of dreams providing my mind with a show real of the surreal.

The mind show seemed to halt all of a sudden in the early hours of the morning. My eyes flicked open and my conscious mind seemed to be making sense of something barely perceived during my slumber. I stepped out of the back door to look over the darkened countryside, I was aware of an engine ticking over somewhere close by, after a few more moments a light mounted high on a pick up truck flicked into life and scanned the fields before switching off. I wondered if the lampers were after rabbits until I heard the artificial sound of a rabbit distress call. It would appear that they were after shooting foxes out here in the arable fields. The lamp clicked on again and began another sweep of the field, it crept around closer to the hovel and I stepped onto the back step to ensure I would be visible to them. The light passed over me and promptly switched off. I stepped back inside for a moment to inform my good lady of my observations and also to grab a flash light. By the time I stepped onto the road I could hear their truck reverse and head off in the opposite direction. I padded after them for some ten minutes or so to see if they were up to no good but they had driven off into the night.

Quietly I returned to the spot where I had seen the truck and stood in silence. The breeze rustled the crops and leaves of the hedgerow, a sharp bark of a fox cut the night air. The fox was close, perhaps within 20 yards. As I stood in the darkness I broke into a smile and laughed. This fox certainly deserved its reputation of a creature of cunning and guile after evading the lampers. Suitably impressed and with the lane echoing to the sound of my amusement I returned home feeling lighter in my heart, perhaps my dreams and mood will also be lighter for a while too.