A Tranquil Place.
Sunrise: 05.33 Sunset: 08.40
This is a tranquil place to sit and wile away a few spare hours, particularly when it’s hot, sunny, and steamy. It can be pleasant on a dark evening, too. I sit quietly, dreaming of long-lost days spent slaying fire dragons and saving maidens from one calamity or another – even certain death. My dreams can be very intense and vivid down at the pond, relaxing on my lounger.
Sometimes I ponder the future and wonder if there is another crock of gold buried somewhere on the marsh, and where it might be. I have the right kind of spade for unearthing crocks; I just need a break.
I’ve learned how to protect myself against the hordes of biting insects – they no longer make my life on the marsh a misery. Nature slides slowly by, and I am invisible to the marsh inhabitants going about their every-day lives.
Ducks glide in during the evening. The marsh fox lies in wait, hoping to grab the unwary. A muntjac deer trips nimbly through the thick vegetation, alert to every sound and movement. A kingfisher streaks low over the water, and the resident coot shouts a warning that the fox is near by.
It’s all too easy to slip into a deep sleep, only to be rudely woken by an inquisitive squirrel or some other small creature trying to climb inside my trouser leg.
Sometimes I hear strange noises. On a few occasions, I’ve heard the sound of bagpipes floating in on a breeze. I’ve no idea who is playing the bagpipes; Kidderminster is a long way from Scotland – they play in the afternoon and evening. It’s not the onset of senility, either; other people have also heard the wailing pipes.
The canal is not far away. I hear the metallic ringing sound of the Falling Sands lock gate sluice ratchet being operated.
Whoa, there’s something crawling up my leg . . . !
A Tranquil Place.
Have you thought of cycle clips?
I use string now, Tom. Thanks for the suggestion, it is much appreciated.
String is an well tried method of keeping rats and the like from using the trouser leg as a bolt pipe. Agricultural and sewage workers, and miners have tied their trouser legs around their shins with string ever since the potential seriousness of the problem was originally recognised.
Wow! What a GORGEOUS image!
Thanks, Suzanne. it is a lovely pond.
I’d like to know how you protect yourself from the biting insects!
I use insect repellent, Joyce. 😉
Any special one? without advertising! Does it contain DEET?
Tropical strength, Joyce, containing 50% deet.
Thanks Mike. We are planning to be at Ynys Hir at the beginning of June. I don’t know if it will be a problem then but we have suffered quite badly in the past from mosquito bites.
Boots tropical strength repellent works for me. I spray it on my neck I and ears only, and use fingerless gloves to protect my hands against insect bites. It works marvellously for me.
Thanks again Mike.