It's a shame my rubbish phone camera won't take a picture in the dark as Friday night was a real treat. I'd taken the van down to Alresford after tea, ready for a bit of early morning running on Saturday. The day had been dull and overcast with a few rain showers, but just as I set off the sky's had started to clear, and by the time I was safely ensconced in my little hideaway the moon was up and shining brightly. My quiet little haven for the night was sufficiently far away from the major towns that there's a lot less light pollution and the stars were out in force. So, with an extra jacket and wooly hat on, and with brew in hand, I sat out in the dark for half an hour or so, contemplating life and admiring the millions of tiny lights above my head. With the stars shining, an owl calling in the distance and the sounds of the little critters going about their business in the undergrowth, it was a magical 1/2 hour. I'll happily confess that I'm as bad as the rest of us for hiding myself away behind closed curtains, staring at the idiot box night after night. But, it's amazing what's hidden behind those closed curtains. There's a whole new world that wakes up when the sun goes down. A world that we are missing out on with our hectic lifestyles and requirement to be constantly entertained. In my opinion, there's a lot to be said for occasionally turning off the trappings of modern life and taking the time to just stop, listen and stare. After my early night, I was up early Saturday morning, ready and raring to go by the time it got light just after 07:00. My ever faithful weather forecaster ("The Emma"), informed me that the weather was going to get worse as the day progressed, so it made sense to make hay whilst the sun shone. Well, I say the sun shone, it was more of a dark, dank, overcast, autumnal morning than wall to wall sunshine. Never mind though, at least it's not raining (yet). Pushing out from my overnight spot my plan was to pick up the Oxdrove Way, for what would hopefully be a few pleasant hours out. Within the first 30 minutes I'd passed 2 groups of Deer, quietly minding their own business, numerous rabbits, pheasants and similar game birds and paused for a few seconds to watch a Red Kite scanning the ground below for it's breakfast. The trees are still carrying a lot of leaves for the time of year and the autumn colors are still quite spectacular, so there was no shortage of scenery to distract me from the task in hand. Surprisingly, considering the amount of rain we've had over the past few weeks, the going was still quite good, with the paths continuing to hold up against the ongoing deluge. How much longer that will be the case is anyone's guess. I suspect that the ground in this area doesn't drain too well as previous experience has shown that this can be a really muddy run in the winter, today though, things were still fine and dandy. As the morning progressed I got caught in a couple of showers and the wind steadily increased, making for some quite hard sections at times. It's surprising how much harder things become in a head wind, and even more so when it's coupled with the rain in your face! You wouldn't think that the wind could make such a difference and require so much effort to overcome. A steady plod eventually saw me back at the van well before the worst of the forecast weather hit, with an easy 22 miles under my belt. Not bad for a gentle Saturday morning jaunt and more than enough to build up a bit of an appetite ready for lunch. "The Emma" was spot on about the weather and by the time I'd got home and had a shower it had really deteriorated. The wind had picked up significantly and was tearing the dying leaves from the trees, before giving them a good soaking with lashings of rain. With bad weather putting a stop to project patio, I filled the afternoon with some productive pottering's. I was going to make a Orange and Sultana tray bake for a bit of a treat. That was until I realised we didn't have any orange juice. Not to worry, if nothing else I'm inventive, so Tea cake it will have to be, and very nice it is too. Half an hour or so peeling the little onions from the allotment yielded enough to make a couple of jars of Pickled Onions. And I finally got around to crushing up the bonkers hot chilies which have been hanging in the airing cupboard drying for the last 2 years. It's taken this long to get round to it as if the truth be told, I'm scared of them! They are without a doubt the hottest thing I've ever come across. Just handling them is a risky business, one false move or wipe of your face and it's game over! I've got no idea what to do with them, so for the time being they've moved from their long term airing cupboard hideaway to a jar, whilst I consider my next move! Sunday morning still didn't look too promising when I got up at an even stupider time than normal. Nice one clock changing stupidity. Why we have to mess around with the time is beyond me, why can't we just leave it as BST all year round and enjoy the lighter evenings? I really didn't feel like getting cold and wet out on the bike so went for a wander round the local hills for a couple of hours instead. Granted I still got thoroughly soaked in the process but it never seems quite as bad when your on foot as it does on the bike. I guess there's no wind chill to worry about and somehow you seem to stay dryer walking than you do on the bike. It was an enjoyable morning out though, despite the rain and the sun even managed to make a brief appearance a couple of times. With there still being no chance of getting any proper productive work done on the patio I pottered around on the allotment in the drizzle for an hour or so Sunday afternoon, before retreating into the workshop where it was a touch drier.
There's always something to be busying yourself with and I've got a couple of little back burner projects on the go, ready for just such an occasion. That's the joy of having an endless supply of hobbies and interests. Whilst there's never enough time to be doing everything you want to do, there's always something to occupy yourself with!
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Paul PerrattOld enough to know better, young enough to still feel invincible, stupid enough to keep on trying the same thing again and again. Cyclist, Gardener, Runner, Hiker, Cook, Woodworker, Engineer, Jack of all trades and master of none, Anti social old git and all round miserable bugger. Archives
March 2024
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