Daily Nature Walk: 8 February 2026

  I. Environmental Context

Conditions: The temperature was approximately 7°C to 9°C, with a gentle south-southeast breeze of roughly 8–10 mph.

Atmosphere: Despite the mild reading, the wind chill made it feel closer to 5°C or 6°C. It was a crisp start as I set out for my daily active nature walk.

  II. The Human Element

Encounters: I followed a neighbour and his small white Pug along the road. Later, I met June, the former maître d’ at the Dormy Hotel, and an aged gardener working on his garden. Near the playground, I passed a young lady with a Pekingese-type dog.

Dialogue: Upon meeting a lady with an aggressive Jack Russell, I joked, ‘He doesn’t like me, does he?’ She informed me, ‘He doesn’t like men who wear hats!‘

 Reflections: My interaction with the gardener inspired me to transplant two of my potted hydrangeas into a space left vacant by a shrub that succumbed to the winter frost. My attempts at chivalry with the dog—doffing my cap and bowing—sadly failed to silence its barking.

  III. Avian & Wildlife Observations

Species Noted: Wood Pigeons, Gulls (30+), Rooks (20+), Redwings, a Blue Tit, a male Blackbird, and six Dunnocks.

Behaviours: I disturbed a Wood Pigeon feasting on holly berries that have remarkably survived since Christmas. In the cemetery, Redwings were faithfully perched on yesterday’s roosting trees, while Rooks were active around their rookery. A Blackbird gave a sharp alarm cry as it took flight, and the Dunnocks remained settled on a hawthorn hedge.

  Flora Notes: Noted the persistence of bright red berries on the holly shrub and planned the relocation of my hydrangeas to fill a gap in the garden.

Today I walked for 1.78 miles in 38 minutes.

Google Fit awarded me 23 heart points.

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Written by John Yeo – All rights reserved.