'I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out 'til sundown, for going out, I found was really going in.' John Muir

I've seen the top of Everest (from a long way off), smelled the breath of a whale (from way too close) and lived on a boat in Greece (for a few years), but I continue to experience some of my most precious moments right outside my backdoor.

If comments are proving difficult to do, please email me; sleepysparrow@yahoo.co.uk

Saturday, 5 January 2013

Simply A Happy New Year

I breathed into my Christmas-red scarf to prevent the cold air from making me cough and at last we stood on top of the ancient hill fort, alone except for Iron Age ghosts.      
     Merseyside twinkled below and at midnight, the land all around erupted with a thousand tiny explosions. Orion threw off his cloudy cloak and flashed his rhinestone belt at us and all the while the wind blew through our hair and we stood wrapped up in each other. 

We went back next day, for a longer walk and watched a peregrine, slicing through the wild wind like a grey Zorro.  A female kestrel perched on a telegraph pole, hunched and peering down into the scrub below for a furry meal.  We perched on limestone outcrops and ate mince pies, facing Moel Famau and the rest of the gently rounded Clwydian hills.  Shafts of silver sun shone down through slits in the grey cloud, like someone shining a torch through floorboards. 

My New Year resolution: to simplify.  I’m off to a good start.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aha, the long awaited New Year! Sounds as blissful as promised. Nothing like eating outside - food tastes real again! xx

The bike shed said...

'...and all the while the wind blew through our hair and we stood wrapped up in each other.'

Nice line - and perhaps the simplest too.