No sun this morning, but at least it wasn't raining or as cold as it has been lately! My companion was Miriam, and as time was tight, we kept our walk local. We had a look at Shepton's Friday market, which was just setting up, and I showed Miriam the window I had recently dressed at the One Craft Gallery (see middle, left pic).
Our walk took us through Collett Park, which was looking lush and green, and past the allotments, which had many signs of planting activity (see photographs above).
May is my favourite month of the year - maybe because it is my birthday month! It is named after the greek goddess, Maia, who is also identified with the Roman goddess of fertility, Bona Dea.
May is certainly fertile - it is said, that this is the month when plants really start to grow. On our travels today we saw plenty of evidence of this - clouds of white cow parsley, loads of blossom and gardens full of colourful flowers...
I had Miriam for company this morning. It was a great morning for a walk - bright, sunny, but a bit chilly. We didn't have a lot of time, so we stayed on local footpaths and walked up to Barren Down, where there are fantastic views of Shepton. On the way home we explored what was happening in the High Street, and walked back through Collett Park.
Everywhere there were signs of growth, blossom and flowers. Spring is my favourite time of the year with its wonderful fresh green colours and beautiful flowers...
Today was my first early morning walk of the New Year! My excuse is that I haven't, until recently, felt fit enough after my bout of sickness at Christmas time. It has also been cold, dark, damp and murky! Now, however, it is getting lighter and the weather is drier - still very cold, but the Winter sunshine makes up for it! Today I saw the beautiful sunrise casting a golden glow over the sculptural shapes of the bare trees and heard the crunch of boots on frozen ground...
My previous lack of motivation was given a boost today, as I arranged to meet Miriam at 7.30am. We walked through the park into town, where the market was setting up. I bought some lovely fresh fish at the fish stall for supper tonight. We then walked up past the cemetery, and onto the top of the meadows over to a lane that led down to Bowlish, before heading home. It was really great to have company and be striding out in the fresh air...
At Bowlish, I showed Miriam some of the lovely old properties in this area, including Bowlish House - the hotel and restaurant, (see largest pic below) and Old Bowlish House (the house with the pale blue front door), which is one of my favourite houses in Shepton.
Jenny and I have had a history lesson, tour and tea at Old Bowlish House in September 2015 - written up in a previous post (press on the label below).
Today, I saw my first Spring flowers of the year - some snowdrops. I have been doing a lot of artwork featuring them, as in Shepton we are having a Snowdrop Festival in February, which I will be talking about in future posts...
Today I had the company of a neighbour that I have just met. Miriam is fairly new to Shepton, so was keen to explore! I decided to take her on a circular walk on the outskirts of the town, taking in some public footpaths and bridle ways...
It was dark when we started off but by the time we were on footpaths with the Charlton Viaduct as a drop back, this gave way to a beautiful sunrise.
On the circular tour we walked by Kilver Court, which was looking very festive with its Christmas lights and trees. We then worked our way, via some footpaths through to Barren Down, which was a surprise to Miriam. It is such a hidden, unspoilt piece of countryside which overlooks the town - see the top photographs above.
I also showed her the Bath Road Viaduct - we are spoilt for viaducts in Shepton! There are actually three - the last one being the Ham Wood Viaduct, which is a ruin in the woods and much harder to find. I did find it in May and the post about it can be located by pressing on the label below...
We finally made our way home up the High Street, past the allotments, through Collett Park and back to Tadley Acres. Miriam said she felt good, getting out and walking in the fresh early morning air, and would like to go again!
According to the excellent book I am currently reading - 'Making Art a Practice' by Cat Bennett, walking outside in nature is an excellent practice, for cultivating peace and awareness. Surely much needed, especially this time of year...
