I hadn't planned a walk. It was a foggy morning and I had a busy Monday ahead. Got to feed Emma's cats to the way to work, gotta book in wallpaper for a collection first thing, got to reschedule the dentist, got to do all the lamp orders myself this week as Dom is away, got to be focused, got to go to got to...
Then my son Euan sent me a photo he'd just taken from his house up the hill with the caption, "Good morning from the top of the world!" His pictured showed a band of deep white mist in the valley and Stoodley Pike in clear crisp sunshine above it all." Get up here if you can, it's magic."
So that was that. I headed up to Old Town (not forgetting to feed Irma, Sophie and Mr Tubbs on the way).
I didn't have to get far up the hill before I could sense the bright blue sky above the fog and the sun pushing through.
The combination of mist and sun really lit up the spiderwebs,
every silk thread adorned by tiny sparkling beads of dew.
These usually delicate, hidden and secret traps were suddenly ILLUMINATED,
They were everywhere and unmissable.
Probably not the best news for the spiders but easier for the flies!
What utterly incredible creations. It was good to be able to marvel at their pattern and structure in this illuminated state.
As I got further up the hill I could see the thick band of cloud hanging in the valley and the opposite hillside reaching up out of the mist.
And there was Stoodley Pike, looking just like it did in Euan's photograph.
I had climbed out of the fog, found a clear and sunny day and seen so much beauty on the way.
I no longer felt daunted by the tasks of the day, but as excited as this chattering charm of goldfinches (I counted 65 in this photo!).
And just a few hours later the cats fed, wallpaper collected, dentist rescheduled, a pile of laser cutting ready turned into lamps and I somehow also found the time to sort through my photos and write this blog post! It's amazing what an hour spent in nature focusing on beauty and finding wonder can do! I T O P E N E D U P M Y D A Y and gave me a gentle focus throughout.
If you liked this post you might like to sign up to my Three Somethings, a gentle and joyful moment in your inbox each week. You can also enjoy more of photos, illustrations and writings in any of my yearly 'something I have noticed' journals which can be purchased here. Thank you x
You might like this post by
which I read just after I had written about the wonders my walk had on my day so it resonated. She talks eloquently about nature, focus and a feeling of safety… and about tiny pink piglets crossing the road.And a big thank you for the lovely people welcoming me to Substack and sharing my page. Thanks to the lovely
of Still Sketching who brought lots of new subscribers last week. It was lovely to find her here after being Instagram friends for years. And my friend brought her mailing list over to Substack last week and shared my page with her community. Do check out their pages.Thanks everyone for reading.
Hannah x
Those cobwebs are absolutely magical. What beautiful photos
What an uplifting post to read. It is so easy to find reasons not to take opportunities like this, but I am so glad you did. An hour like this really does make all the difference. Thank you too for the lovely mention!