Walkin' & Thinkin'
A long walk in the woods this afternoon. I saw deer and bunnies. The deer are shy, and only turn out as tiny blobs on my photos. Maybe they'll get more used to me or I'll get better at sneaky photos.
While walking, I remembered walking alone in summer woods in Indiana when I visited there as a girl. I had forgotten that I used to do that - quite a lot. The American woods were different, but the feeling of enjoyment was similar.
I had one of those moments where something in your past, and something in your present intersect and suddenly become part of a seamless continuum, rather than individual, random events. A bit of an epiphany, in fact.
It makes me wonder why I never considered myself outdoorsy? I guess I knew people who were "proper" hikers or ramblers, so my walks didn't count (in my own mind). On my return home, woods weren't to be had just over the back fence like they were in either Indiana or Suffolk. Or maybe, being a teenager, I thought I 'should' be more interested in cinemas and pop music or something?
So, in the intervening 20+ years, I have done very little walking in woods. This makes me a bit sad. But it makes me happy too, to have fully recognised this about myself. It's a shame the Australian bush is a bit too dangerous for a city girl like me to go wandering solo in...
The walk I did was the same one that I got lost on at the start of my trip. It was good to see that my stamina is improving. I was pretty tired when I returned - in fact I had to have a bit of a lie down - but my legs didn't hurt while I was walking. The first time, I was walking, walking, walking and it was drudgery. Being lost didn't help. One day I'll do the full circuit of Ickworth. I vaguelly hoped to today, but after walking for 2 hours I realised I hadn't had any lunch, and was being sustained by 2 small pieces of toast. And it was an hour and a half by the shortest route to get home. Maybe I'll go back and finish the circuit tomorrow.
While walking, I remembered walking alone in summer woods in Indiana when I visited there as a girl. I had forgotten that I used to do that - quite a lot. The American woods were different, but the feeling of enjoyment was similar.
I had one of those moments where something in your past, and something in your present intersect and suddenly become part of a seamless continuum, rather than individual, random events. A bit of an epiphany, in fact.
It makes me wonder why I never considered myself outdoorsy? I guess I knew people who were "proper" hikers or ramblers, so my walks didn't count (in my own mind). On my return home, woods weren't to be had just over the back fence like they were in either Indiana or Suffolk. Or maybe, being a teenager, I thought I 'should' be more interested in cinemas and pop music or something?
So, in the intervening 20+ years, I have done very little walking in woods. This makes me a bit sad. But it makes me happy too, to have fully recognised this about myself. It's a shame the Australian bush is a bit too dangerous for a city girl like me to go wandering solo in...
The walk I did was the same one that I got lost on at the start of my trip. It was good to see that my stamina is improving. I was pretty tired when I returned - in fact I had to have a bit of a lie down - but my legs didn't hurt while I was walking. The first time, I was walking, walking, walking and it was drudgery. Being lost didn't help. One day I'll do the full circuit of Ickworth. I vaguelly hoped to today, but after walking for 2 hours I realised I hadn't had any lunch, and was being sustained by 2 small pieces of toast. And it was an hour and a half by the shortest route to get home. Maybe I'll go back and finish the circuit tomorrow.