Going For A Walk

[Walker]

On my lunch hour yesterday I decided to go for a walk. I walk quite a lot these days, but I'm casual about it, nothing grand - no National Parks or mountains. I just like wandering along the country lanes of the valley of Strathnairn, where I live, and sometimes I walk in the woodland areas. I occasionally take a quick photo on my phone along the way, to look at when I return from the walk.

Well, one month ago on a fairly bright late evening, back on April 24th, I was walking on the edge of a woodland here and got this quick snap with an old ruined cottage. To me it seemed like the very first signs of Spring had arrived, very muted and soft.

As the weeks went by the Spring became a little bit greener, though it's never super-green like in the Borders or Ireland. I think the climate here is just that bit harsher. Still, the woodland walk yesterday was quite interesting. Apparently, the wood here (still in Strathnairn) at a place called Littlemill is of scientific interest, because the landscape was formed during the last ice age. This was my pic yesterday, mainly Birch and Scots Pine and there were some little lochans called 'kettle holes' created as the ice retreated thousands of years ago. When I was walking on the little loop here, it almost seemed like it was a place untouched by human hand, really peaceful.

It goes to show some of the best things in life really are free... Is there a local walk that you enjoy?

 

[Dingo40]

Not so much nowadays but, when I was still working , I would walk to and from work (2 km each way) most days and, often, 4 times around the soccer pitch as well.
Then, on Sundays, my wife and I would walk across the 1870s bridge over the River Murray and back (about 2km total).
Unfortunately, my walking has become curtailed by a dodgy knee (thinning of cartilage due to autoimmune disease).
I still manage to mow the lawn, as the mower makes an effective walking frame )

 

[Walker]

Well Dingo that's quite a routine you had. Going out walking is very addictive, the more you do it, the more you want to do it. Mowing... less so.

I'm going out to walk at Littlmill again this lunchtime. There is another route to try. It's a bit grey today, but as long as the rain stays away, I'll be out. Might take a pic if any interesting views unfold.

 

[Tom]

That's a very beautiful area, Stewart, thanks!

My wife and I walk in the woods and on the beach most days, generally 3 - 5 miles (5 - 8 km). Our area is also marked by glaciers, with ridges made by changing lake levels over the millenniums, eskers and kettles. Predominantly beech, maple and birch hardwood forests, along with cedar swamps and spruce, hemlock, pine coniferous woods. Deer, fox, coyote, turkeys, etc. are abundant. Yesterday we watched a porcupine munching new maple leaves, about 20 feet up.

Here in the US most wooded and open land is private, so it's not available for random wandering as I believe it is in some parts of Europe. We do, however, have many state and local parks around as well as "land trust" area that is open to the public.

I've posted picturrs before, but there are never too many in my opinion!

 

[Walker]

That's a really great picture Tom. You sure have beautiful landscapes and the most diverse flora and fauna in Wisconsin. Send more pictures buddy, it's brilliant to learn more about your State. The forests of maple, birch and beech sounds incredible too. Maple is apparently very good for building accordions and violins too. Interestingly, I was just checking the globe and see your latitude is around the 44th parallel north, though I had thought you were further north due to the severe winters. I was just checking and where I live we are above the 57th parallel north, which would be similar to some parts of Alaska, but thankfully our climate is a bit more like yours.

That's amazing about the turkeys and porcupines etc. Most of the time I go out for a walk it's along the country byways and lanes. I don't go walking in the thick undergrowth as ticks can be problematic here and I know people who have become very ill, but there are a lot of community walks and Forestry Commission trails, like in the pictures above. Like you, I also wouldn't go walking in places that weren't established public routes or country roads etc. But actually one of the things I always enjoy is the morning walk, ideally before 8am, just along the country road outside our house, and it's amazing how noisy the countryside gets. There are lots of lambs bounding about just now, and some goats and horses too, plus the cockerel starts crowing when I'm out, and the pheasants like to make their voices heard. Less noisy are the multitude of hare, red kites, and the occasional deer - usually roe, but I have seen red deer too. There is a most incredible bird called a lapwing which flaps around the fields like crazy and has a most unusual call. At one time there were wolves and lynx here but they became extinct a very long time ago. Some people would like to see them reintroduced.

Anyway, I never managed to get out for my walk this afternoon, but will go just now. Interestingly, you mention the kettles and the eskers, well my second picture was from the 'Kettlehole trail' and the other walk at Littlemill is called the 'Esker trail'. Hoping to explore that one...

 

[Walker]

In this wild place I call home, I have been keeping a look out of the window. My house, whose name translates from the old language as valley of the high place, lies deep within Strathnairn. I walked out into the front garden on this hot summer evening and far down the valley to my left I could see a clear orange line below the smoke. Though it is quite late now, certainly well after 10pm, there is a wildfire burning, and it has blazed all day. It's been pretty hot here but it is sad to see the flames in this little corner of the Highlands. It was such a beautiful morning I actually recorded outside (at 8am) a video of a new accordion composition I wrote especially about this valley, I hope to share it with you soon. But first, I want to see the flames extinguished...

 

[Ffingers]

...and when you have finished training your firefighters on home ground this Summer, please send them to AUstralia, New Zealand and South America.
Judging by the current El Niño forecasts, we are going to need every ablebodied person 'down under'.

Awaiting with bated breath your new works

 

[Dingo40]

As Ffingers has said, we're no strangers to wildfires (aka bushfires) in Australia.
The worst of it is that (lightning strikes apart) so many are deliberately lit by arsonists (a*******s!), some of whom are actually with the fire fighters

 

[Dingo40]

One such individual was eventually caught and admitted to having lit in excess of 50 separate fires in the district where she resided.

 

[Walker]

Sorry to hear that Dingo.

At least it seems the wildfire here has been extinguished now. It's been quite hot for most of the past week and I guess the foliage was very dry. It's just started raining too - the ground needs it.

 

[Tom]

In this wild place I call home, I have been keeping a look out of the window. My house, whose name translates from the old language as valley of the high place, lies deep within Strathnairn. I walked out into the front garden on this hot summer evening and far down the valley to my left I could see a clear orange line below the smoke. Though it is quite late now, certainly well after 10pm, there is a wildfire burning, and it has blazed all day. It's been pretty hot here but it is sad to see the flames in this little corner of the Highlands. It was such a beautiful morning I actually recorded outside (at 8am) a video of a new accordion composition I wrote especially about this valley, I hope to share it with you soon. But first, I want to see the flames extinguished...

Well, I'm sorry to hear about the wildfires Stewart, but the Valley and the rhododendrons (?) sure are pretty. We've been spared here in Wisconsin for the most part but we got a lot of haze from the fires in Canada. Looking forward to your new composition!

 

[JerryPH]

I am in a part of Canada where we are spared the haze and smoke, but it is sad the mount of damage that these fires are causing both at home and abroad. Our fire fighters were actually in the USA helping put out some of their brushfires when the call came to come home fast and help with the fires both easy and west of us.

Forest fires of any kind are always so sad for me, such a useless waste and the decades it takes to recover from... IF ever... is completely disheartening.

I predict Steward will have something to show in the next 1-2 days maximum.

 

[Walker]

I was out and about early this morning as I had an idea for a new tune and wanted to go for a short drive to gather information.

My son and I had just left our house in Strathnairn but I had to stop as we drove by Loch a' Chlachain, a small freshwater loch in our valley that's name means Loch of the Church. It seems the colours of autumn are starting to intensify now and the loch looked well in the early morning sunlight. My photo (from an inexpensive mobile phone) does little justice to this place. Water from Loch a' Chlachain flows into the River Nairn and the loch itself is fed by the much larger Loch Duntelchaig that's very close by. Loch Duntelchaig is also one of the sources of water for the City of Inverness.​

 

[Tom]

I was out and about early this morning as I had an idea for a new tune and wanted to go for a short drive to gather information.

My son and I had just left our house in Strathnairn but I had to stop as we drove by Loch a' Chlachain, a small freshwater loch in our valley that's name means Loch of the Church. It seems the colours of autumn are starting to intensifying now and the loch looked well in the early morning sunlight. My photo (from a entry level mobile phone) does little justice to this place. Water from Loch a' Chlachain flows into the River Nairn and the loch itself is fed by the much larger Loch Duntelchaig that's very close by. Loch Duntelchaig is also one of the sources of water for the City of Inverness.​

Beautiful!

 

[saundersbp]

One good walk today in Scotland deserves another in Crummackdale Yorkshire by my Barn today.

 

[losthobos]

Us southern dandies still got green leaves down here.... slightly envious you have such beautiful colours in advance.....

 

[Tom]

Yeah, we got the maples here….

 

[losthobos]

 

[losthobos]

One thing I have noticed is that us accordion owners seem to habite far from the madding crowd . .

 

[Tom]

One thing I have noticed is that us accordion owners seem to habite far from the madding crowd . .

True. Only time we want a crowd is when the tip bucket (case) is out.