Ground Clearance

I've been reading a book that has brought nature back to me.

Gradually.

This week has been epic and stressful but reading has helped me lift myself out of the sofa, sit in the garden and look at the sky.  I've started to notice the birds - on the river, in the trees, in the skies.

I invested in a bird-book to replace the Canadian book which isn't really much use to me anymore.

I've started reading Nan Shepherd too.

This weekend I needed to de-stress gently.  Every time I've been upstairs to do yoga I get slightly depressed by my cyclo-cross bike which is propped upright by the wall, asking to be fixed up ready for next season.  On Saturday morning I brought him down, put on a new derailleur, fixed the gears and gave him his first bath since he stood-in for my mountain bike in December.  After that I got the mountain bike out and re-tuned those gears so it doesn't annoy me when I ride it.

In the afternoon we walked into town.  Not a very nature-oriented activity but as we sat outside at the cafe I thumbed the bird book and learned some new things. 

We got home and I started attacking the garden.  One of the trees in the garden is being strangled by vine.  I hadn't realised how bad it was till I saw a few spindly branches with yellowing leaves on the end in stark contrast to the over-riding evergreen vine leaves. I gradually, over the course of the entire afternoon, peeled back all of the vine from the tree.  I then cut back the grapevine that's moved in from next door from the elder, the dog rose and the pine tree. 

The patio was more "dappled shade" than "basement" now.  The brambles gone.  I fear for the future of the elder tree, it was damp and rotten in many places where the vine was rooted between branches. I'll need to keep an eye on it but it seems reasonably strong and I hope it survives.

This morning I sat outside to eat my breakfast.  There were no birds singing.  I couldn't see any either except a few darting around high in the sky above the valley.  Suddenly I could pick out the different varieties - house martin, swift and swallow - against the blue sky.

I spent the rest of the day trundling around town to buy a mower (the old one broke) and some bags to take the garden rubbish to the skip where we also deposited the old mower and a bunch of waste electrical equipment and old batteries.

Back at the house we managed another load of garden waste and sat and watched the birds again whilst drinking tea. 

In a world where I've tended to shy away with the computer on my relaxing days, it was great to work hard, outside, on my space.  It no longer feels like a lost cause.  It's now a planted out, slightly tidier, slightly lighter, more thriving space to breathe.

Nature is supposed to bring me out and I would have liked to ride today but my self has been exercised at home and is immensely grateful for it.

I might be quiet on twitter for a while.  I feel incredibly middle aged and I really don't give a shit.