​It was a pleasant afternoon with a warm sun beaming through a diffused, cloudy sky.

  ​I met our neighbour, accompanied by her small black Cavapoo. The dog was looking quite dapper; she admitted they had decided against professional grooming, trimming his furry coat themselves.

  ​I passed a round holly bush that was glowing with beautiful red berries—somewhat early for Christmas, I thought.

  Continuing my walk around the outskirts of the recreation ground, I picked a couple of late, ripe blackberries from the briars at the entrance to the cemetery road. The noisy Pitbull was in the garden, and it gave a couple of low yelps as I walked by.

  ​Entering the cemetery, a group of six hedge sparrows scattered into the thick hedgerow bordering the recreation ground.

​Two wood pigeons feeding on the ground flapped away as I approached.

  ​I left the cemetery and made my way past the leisure centre into Foxglove Lane.

​Today I walked for 2.19 miles in 49 minutes.

​Google Fit awarded me 25 heart points.

The sky was cloudy, with a light breeze blowing the grey clouds around when I started out on my daily walk today.

I walked around the outskirts of the local golf club. My lovely wife Margaret, drove the Kuga to the golf club and dropped me off before making her way to the gym at the leisure centre.

Two gulls were drifting around in the sky and a couple of jackdaws were pecking on the green grass when I began.

A lady walking a cross-bred, poodle-type dog passed me along the way.

I photographed a clump of pink sorrel growing along the borders simply because I couldn’t remember the name of this plant, and I knew Google Lens would identify it.

I continued along the way, and a large white gull slowly flew over the golf course patrolling the area for food.

  I noticed that the gorse bushes have burst out into beautiful, blazing yellow flowers, and I couldn’t resist taking a photograph.

  I left the golf course and walked across to the nearby clifftop where I stopped and looked out to sea and the beach below.

The tide was out, revealing a large expanse of damp sand. A couple of men were far out at the water’s edge digging for lugworms to be used as bait by anglers.

 I noticed a large patch of sea aster flowers thriving on the cliffside, and several people were exercising their impressive dogs on the beach. I photographed a golden retriever, a German shepherd, and an Icelandic sheep dog, all freely chasing around on the beach.

A friendly, fearless jackdaw perched on a railing in front of me as I was looking out to sea.

I walked along the clifftop path where I noticed some beautiful sea thrift flowers growing along the side of the pathway among the remainder of the mallow and other summer flowering plants.

A Boxer dog 🐕 meets a sheep 🐑

  I took a short walk along The Arden Way, in Warwickshire, the surrounding rural views are glorious.
Farmyards, farmhouses and cottages with some beautiful rustic gardens, border the famous public footpath. Sheep and cattle, horses and ponies graze in the fields alongside fields producing crops for food.
As I passed a line of cottages a family left their house with a large, Boxer dog. The dog wasn’t on a lead, and it seemed friendly enough to accept a pat and a stroke.
Across the road was a small field containing sheep. I was surprised and delighted to see this large fearsome looking dog, slowly cross the road and start sniffing a sheep through the fence. The sheep didn’t turn and run but simply sniffed the dog right back through the fence.
This behaviour from both of these animals seemed totally out of character and well worth recording.

  I would start my daily walk along a wonderful pathway leading from Studley Castle to Studley church. This beautiful, well-kept pathway is bordered by many healthy shrubs full of wild birds. It runs through three or four fields where many sheep graze. A new woodland has been planted on one side of the pathway with walking trails. This pathway is a small section of the Arden Way.
When I arrived at Studley church, I walked past the new town graveyard, which is right opposite the ancient churchyard. Many grey squirrels are living and thriving around here, and the birdlife is prolific; I have seen many varieties on my walks.
   I usually cross the road from the church and walk across a field to the River Arrow. This river is a favourite place for the local fishing club and there’s a notice on display advising people that it is a private fishery. This was always a breathtaking part of my daily walks and many local people use this field as a dog-walking route from the village.
   The River Arrow is bordered by many beautiful trees and shrubs and it winds around, through the fields. Many sheep from the local farms graze around the river and drink the clean flowing water. I have seen the usual waterfowl, such as mallard ducks swimming in the river and geese feeding in a field.
  My favourite sighting along the riverbanks has been the large white egrets and I have even spotted a grey heron that rapidly flew away as I approached. This is such a beautiful, natural, interesting part of the world.

  The weather was cool and cloudy today as I walked along the roads and walkways around the Corner House dental practice in Cromer. The houses around this area were built in the late Victorian era, and the trees and private gardens are well-established.
  A single corvid flew high over the rooftops as I walked along Saint Mary’s road in Cromer. I passed a man walking two dogs and spoke to him; he said one of his dogs was a Cockapoo, and the other was a Portuguese Water Dog. Oddly, both of these dogs looked remarkably like each other; they were both chocolate brown in colour with curly coats.
  Many established shrubs were growing and thriving in the front gardens as I passed. Some beautiful floral displays and rosebushes in bloom brightened up the sides of the road.

A man was walking a mongrel-type dog along a pathway behind the houses.
Two jackdaws flew over a rooftop and settled on a concrete ledge under the gutter.
  When I arrived at the end of the road I saw an interesting sight. Two men, one quite elderly, were seated on a couple of chairs next to a wheelbarrow, outside a garage full of gardening tools next to a colourful, neat garden. I couldn’t help thinking that is a great way to spend time while gardening.
  I photographed a marmalade hoverfly sipping nectar from a dandelion flower.
An impressive, large Icelandic Sheepdog, accompanied by a young man, passed by on the opposite side of the road.
I turned back to where the Kuga was parked, passing an impressively tall Monterey Cypress tree.
Today, I walked for 3.02 miles in 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Google Fit awarded me 22 heart points.

Southern Hawker Dragon fly

NATURAL REALITY

by John Yeo

The overwhelming human presence

Floods the natural, wild presence,

Bringing an uneven, unnaturally balance.

~

These words reflect the sad, sad story

Of the unacceptable pain and agony

Of a harsh concrete experience.

~

Noise and fumes form a barrier until

Beautiful wildlife becomes roadkill—

Just a bloody heap of furry essence.

©️ All rights reserved.

  Today, I walked around a busy area surrounding Studley Garden Centre in Warwickshire. I spotted a live robin hopping around in the building as I left. I guess it had entered through the open doors and was busy exploring this new, interesting environment.

I walked across the car park towards a pedestrian exit, where I saw a sad pile of feathers on the ground, which was the remains of a wood pigeon. This poor bird had been either run down by a car or killed by a predator.

I left the garden centre and began to walk along a busy main road full of noisy cars and lorries. I passed the ‘Harvester’ restaurant in Redditch, set in a green area of woods. A lone crow was pecking around on a nearby field. I continued along the Birmingham Road past some large, impressive houses with beautiful grounds and gardens.

One of the gardens was next to an interesting area in the bordering woods with a large, marshy, water-filled area full of rampant reeds and weeds. Sadly, I was unable to get into this area as it was a gated, private property. A solitary magpie was hopping around on the grass.

I crossed over to a public footpath on the opposite side of the road, where I spoke to a man walking a cross-bred, chocolate-coloured Labrador. I walked along the pathway in some dense woods before turning back and making my way back to Studley Garden Centre.

A black cat was lazily prowling around the garden, and a couple of the customers had brought along three tiny toy dogs.

Today, I walked for 2.44 miles in 54 minutes.

Google Fit awarded me 27 heart points.

I began walking along my customary pathway towards the church and the river. A fairly large flock of small birds were flying around the hedgerows as I made my way along the path. They were feeding on the autumn fruits growing in great profusion on the shrubs along the way.
  Two men walking two large Alsatian dogs arrived from a pathway near the church. One of the dogs was extremely friendly and accepted my strokes with a rapid shaking of its tail.
  I started to cross the road to get to the gate leading to the river when I noticed many small birds feeding on the hawthorn shrubs nearby. I photographed a robin and a chaffinch in and around a hawthorn hedge at the entrance.
  I walked towards the River Arrow, where I photographed a large willow tree growing on a bend on the edge of the riverbanks.
I shot a small video clip of the sound of the water flowing over some large stones in the river. The sound of water flowing is incredibly relaxing.
  I walked back along the way to the castle, where I met Margaret on the terrace.
Today, I walked for 2.91 miles in 1 hour and 5 minutes.
Google Fit awarded me 22 heart points.