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.

I began walking along my customary pathway; the sun was shining beautifully.  There was a magpie in a nearby sheep field, and several corvids were feeding on the grass with many more sheep in the distance. The narrow pathway was lined with shrubs full of autumn fruits, a feast for the small birds at this time of year. Sloes, hawthorn berries, and guelder rose berries to name a few, although I didn’t spot any damsons. Unseen birds were twittering within the shrubs on either side of the road.

I walked past Studley Church and then across the field to the River Arrow.
Many corvids, mostly carrion crows and rooks, were hopping about and pecking at the grass. I took a great photograph of the River Arrow, with the wind sending ripples on the surface of the water.

I continued walking along the river bank when a large white egret quickly flew away and landed in the branches of a tree. I managed to take a blurry, long-distance photograph of the egret using the distance setting on my mobile phone.
  I spotted a group of dog walkers in the distance and took a photograph to try and identify the dog breeds. I walked across the field and past the church, where I spotted a squirrel and a wood pigeon in the cemetery and took an interesting photograph of them together. As I began to walk back to the castle, a family with three bull terriers on leads appeared from a pathway across a field. I passed them on the pathway, and suddenly a shepherd dog in a nearby field began barking loudly at the bull terriers. Studley Church bells began to ring out, possibly as a practice for the Sunday evening service later today.
Today, I walked for 3.59 miles in one hour and 26 minutes.
Google Fit awarded me 22 heart points.

My walk today took me along the beautiful, familiar route through the wonderful scenic lane at Studley Castle.

There were many black-faced sheep and a few corvids in a farmer’s field as I passed by. A single sparrow was flying into the bordering hedgerow alongside this field.

When I reached the church, I met a lady walking three dogs. I exclaimed to her, ‘You have your hands full! You must be a dog walker! What breeds are these three lovely dogs?’

She replied, ‘A Romanian sheepdog, a Springer spaniel and a Cockapoo.’

She also said she wasn’t a dog walker, but she runs kennels and boards other people’s dogs when they are away on holiday.

A lively squirrel was running along the ground in the nearby Studley cemetery.

I took four lovely photos of the River Arrow as I continued to walk along the riverbank. I photographed a solitary carrion crow, who was foraging among the sheep.

I stumbled across a fairy ring or a fungal colony in the grassy field alongside the River Arrow and took a photograph of it to identify it on Google Lens later.

I took an interesting photograph of a couple of sheep posing near a large upturned tree trunk with its roots exposed.

Another solitary sheep grazed beneath a large English Oak tree.

A large brown horse was grazing in front of the impressive Studley, Manor House; I had taken another photo of this impressive horse in 2024, and it hasn’t visibly changed in a whole year.

Today I walked for 3.29 miles in one hour and ten minutes.

Google Fit awarded me 34 heart points.

⛅🌥️🌞🌤️☀️⛅🔆🌞☀️

A crow and an egret

Wild Walk .🥾🥾..

   My walk today took me along a beautiful, familiar route at Studley Castle that I haven’t walked for months. The sun was shining intermittently, but it became quite hot as I walked. I started walking along the beautiful pathway leading to Studley parish church. The pathway was lined with blackthorn, sloes, and hawthorn shrubs. Wild dogrose hips, attached to straggling branches, were growing through the dense, matted hedgerow.

  A flock of sheep grazed peacefully in a field with many corvids pecking around in the grass. A robin redbreast suddenly flew up from the shrubs at the side of the pathway, followed by a tiny bluetit. The robin followed me along the pathway, fluttering and hopping from shrub to shrub. I arrived at the church; wood pigeons scattered into the tall trees surrounding the graveyard.

  I crossed the road and entered a field through a metal gate and walked towards the River Arrow. Willow trees and hawthorn shrubs, covered in red haws, were growing on both sides of the river. Himalayan balsam flowers were growing all along both sides of the riverbanks, among the reeds and various species of small trees and shrubs. With a loud, fluttering sound of powerful wings, a grey heron flew up from the river and disappeared over the nearby fields.

  On the opposite side of the river, many corvids were feeding; I photographed an egret and a crow feeding near each other. A lady walking a golden retriever crossed the field in the distance and walked towards the village. I snapped a couple of photographs of the egret before I walked back across the field and headed towards the pathway leading back to the castle. A man walking a miniature poodle came towards me as I began to follow the pathway.

  An inquisitive magpie, who was sitting on a fence, flew away fast into a sheep field as I passed. I finished my walk and arrived back at the castle, where I met up with Margaret.

Today I walked for 3.18 miles in 1 hour and 12 minutes. 

Google Fit awarded me 20 heart points.

North Walsham Memorial Park 

Wild Walk .🥾🥾..

   Today, I enjoyed a pleasurable walk around North Walsham Memorial Park. 

It was windy and raining when I started out and the memorial park was empty except for one lady in the distance, walking a large black dog.

  About 200 corvids, mainly rooks and jackdaws, were spread out, feeding on the grass. Worms and insects tend to come to the surface when the ground is wet, making  a healthy, natural meal for the birds.

Among the corvids, yet warily keeping a distance, were 50 wood pigeons and several gulls. High winds were blowing with occasional heavy showers intermingled with light rain.

 I caught up with the lady dog walker who introduced me to her large friendly dog. 

He was a Scottish, Gordon Setter, aged eight and a half years old. He was 

friendly and energetic, without a single grey hair visible among his immaculate black fur.

 Many beautiful, impressive, aged trees are growing around the borders of this memorial park. The trees are gradually transforming into their autumn colours, with 

many varieties of coloured leaves; red, yellow and brown. A lot of fallen leaves and broken branches were swirling around in the autumnal winds and the showers became increasingly heavier, fortunately I had brought an umbrella along with me.

  I noticed there were thousands and thousands of green and brown acorns lying around beneath the oak trees, creating a jay and a squirrel’s paradise. Sadly I didn’t see either of these creatures today, but I’m sure they are hiding around here somewhere. 

 A huge amount of beech mast was spread thickly under some beech trees and I trod on a thick layer of small, spiky sweet Chestnuts lying on the grass.

  The neighbouring field was full of corvids, with a few gulls scattered around.

The Memorial Garden was sadly empty of people and without plants in flower. However there were some large, impressive, permanent, memorial, plastic poppies, displayed on the war memorial.

Today I walked for 2.86 miles in 1 hour and 5  minutes.

Google Fit awarded me 24 heart points.

~~

Social Media blog post 

A Walk in North Walsham Memorial Park

Despite the wind and rain, I enjoyed a wonderful walk today at North Walsham Memorial Park. The park was quiet, with only a lady and her friendly Scottish Gordon Setter for company.

I came across a huge flock of over 200 corvids, including rooks and jackdaws, feasting on worms that had surfaced in the wet grass. They shared the space warily with dozens of wood pigeons and gulls.

The high winds were blowing fallen leaves and broken branches all around. The beautiful old trees are just starting to show their autumn colours of red, yellow, and brown. Beneath the oak trees, thousands of acorns littered the ground—a perfect paradise for a jay or squirrel, though I didn’t spot any today!

It was a rewarding 2.86-mile walk, and I’m glad I had my umbrella. What a fantastic way to spend a rainy day!

Google Fit awarded me 24 heart points.

Margaret was quietly sheltering 🙂🙂🎎💕

©️ Written by John Yeo. All rights reserved.