Saturday 26 May 2012

Quiet as a ninja


I used to think walking was boring. It was too slow. No matter how beautiful the surroundings, I'd always think ”I wish I were running instead”. But then I started taking my camera with me. Suddenly I started noticing little details that stood out. I stopped often to take photos. My walks weren't that boring any more. They were mini adventures.



When I left home this morning for my now almost-daily walk, the sky was scattered with clouds and some stray drops of rain found their way down to my arms. The only thing I could hear was birds. I picked a little-used trail that cut straight through the woods and followed it. 



Now, I might love summer, but that doesn't mean I love everything about it. As soon as I left the main path and entered the woods, a million mosquitoes attacked me. I tried to avoid stepping on the myriads of ants that covered the trail, yet one pissed off little bugger managed to climb on my foot and bite me. I had my VFF on my feet, and although it meant being quiet as a ninja on the soft trail, it also meant that my ankles were exposed.


Some parts of the trail were really muddy, although it hasn't rained properly in days. I saw some fresh deer tracks in the mud and immediately went on hunter mode. Only I wasn't hoping to shoot to kill. I'm a vegetarian, after all. I was only going to shoot them with my camera. My efforts to be quiet were nulled by the loud hum of the mosquito hordes that were chasing me. I might as well have been an elephant. I saw no deer.



The trail came to an end and I was back on the main path. I followed it down to the lake where joggers and dog walkers were out enjoying the weather. I turned towards the horse riding path. I love it there. It's like a jungle, with ferns, grass and tufts of moss forming a carpet under the canopy of fir and pine. I heard hooves behind me and turned to see a sulky coming towards me. The rider had a cigarette in his mouth. Horse riding might be a sport, but the only one getting some exercise while riding a sulky is the horse.



Tonight, I will be spending time in a very different environment. In town, eating dinner with friends.

3 comments:

  1. Låter härligt - förutom myggorna..
    Så underbara bilder. Finns det något värre än att se löpare när man inte själv kan springa av någon anledning?
    Om min träning går si så där. Jag kör några korta pass denna vecka. Foten känns bra så jag satsar på maran. Nu älskar jag värmen, men hoppas på lite kallare väder på lördag (hjälp!!)

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  2. Ofattbart! T.o.m jag blir sugen på att GÅ när jag läser detta. (Jag avskyr det annars. I alla fall utan mål och särskilt om det är för att jag inte kan kuta...)
    Ofattbart att någon kan köra sulky och röka! :-( Nästan lika illa som att röka och köra barnvagn.

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  3. Vilka fantastiska bilder du bjuder på. Nästan så jag själv blir löpsugen!

    Så spring, spring för allt vad benen bär.

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