When I set out for a walk, I never really know if the sunset will be outstanding or not. Often I begin the walk some time before the sunset is at its height with bright colours contrasted with the failing light. This cold evening we started walking first to the north and then turned east and then south. The evening was already turning quite dark and we decided to walk across the fields to enjoy the last of the light . Then suddenly the sun said goodbye in a splendid show of golden colours. Speechless one stands there trying to comprehend the beauty, but it surpasses my mind and in this moment solace is mingled with impatience. Solace to sense something magnificent, impatience to not be able to grasp the beauty in its essence, just to watch it from the outside.
There is few things as beautiful as fog in the morning a winter day… A walk that lasted some hours, cold but very beautiful.
I love these lonley roads, especially on Sunday forenoons when people prefer being at home, I suppose taking a long breakfast. There is a silence in the air created, I think, by the low temperature, as if every creature is economising with even the callings to save some energy. Even the thoughts become sparse, the mind listening to the sound of birds flapping and one’s own footsteps in the snow.
The snow comes and goes, and with it the reflection of the sun on the ground. One never really knows how the walk will turn out, as this walk with Toby. We had been waking for one and a half hour then suddenly the sun found its way through the clouds and we are standing there bathed in winter evening light. I appreciate these gems of moments very much. I think it is because I am not in control, and thus can receive it as a gift.
It was more than seven years ago. I got up before the others in the house. It was the month of April, thus nature was not in her complete spring colours, but the mornings were bright, full of smells and sounds. Toby was just some months old and as all puppies, an early bird. This particular morning we took a stroll along our little lake. While standing by the edge of the lake, the air together with the rising sun created an almost unreal feeling. Toby was fascinated by the water, but also by the light I think. He sat for a long time just looking at the surface. It was a lovely time which I still would like to return to, the silence, the light, the warm air.
Toby by the lake
As the years have passed I have tried to realise that some moments just don’t repeat themselves. They remain there in your soul accompaning you through life. Toby isn’t a puppy anymore, the lake is different.
Some months ago my sister and I was returning home from a walk with the dogs. Passing by the lake at another place I was suddenly struck by the same feeling and the same ambience. He sat there, looking at the lake, now seven years old, attentive. Just a moment of silence, now at dusk and the lake partially covered by ice. A quick feeling of gratefulness and surprise came over me to, to just for some seconds, get hold of the same feeling of a slight unreality created by sun and water.
I took a walk in the forest one day and came upon a fire in the woods without any people around it. It rendered an almost faërie tale atmosphere to the situation, as if I had come upon a secret meeting among faëries. The firewood was red and inviting and at the same time I felt like an intruder. I passed it and followed my path to the little farm in the middle of the forest, standing close to a small river with an old broken water mill, dreaming undisturbed dreams to the music of streaming water under a thick layer of ice.
The spring is just around the corner, but the winter has been beautiful with snow and frost. Especially some running days have been beautiful. For this reason I go back in time just to remember the lovely frosty feeling of December and January.
So the snow has arrived, much extra work, but at the same time… The beauty! The dogs love it and I must admit that I think it should be snow at least some weeks in winter, otherwise it doesn’t really feel like winter.
It is a special feeling to walk to the shore while the sun is rising. September can contain both days of Autumn and of Summer, much depending on from where the wind is blowing. This week a southerner started blowing and brought with it warmth from the south of Europe. The haze, which comes of the warm days and cold nights, creates a mysterious light and warm colours in the hills and valleys.
My sister lives in a convent close to a nature reserve called Hilleshögs dalar, the Valleys of Hilleshög. The nature reserve includes a big part of the coastline. A century ago it was used as a harbour, since nature has formed a natural harbour there. Now it is a protected area and home for sand martins and sea gulls. The beach is often abandoned and you can see the island Ven not far from the shore.
The sand banks
My sister lives in a cloistered convent, which means that the nuns have taken the decision to not let people inside the convent and they do not leave the convent. To be able to see my sister then, we must visit her. We live in a house by the convent owned by the convent.
So to get some feeling of nature my sister and I walk in Hilleshögs dalar just 5 minutes by car from the convent, not only to walk the dogs but also to get some fresh air and be by the sea. The scenery is beautiful and I never tire of going there.
One morning was especially beautiful, because we arrived at the time when the fog was slowly lifting, but did still lingered over the sea. A flock of Canadian geese were resting on the water. Peace and beauty mingled together as the sea and sky were not possible to tell apart.
These moments are true gifts. Turning back I carry something with me, the beauty has touched my heart and mind. It witnesses of something and someone beyond and outside of myself that touches and opens the heart, for gratefulness.
Toby loves the sea and to see him play with enthusiasm in the water makes me happy. It is also special to see how his presence doesn’t disturb the peace, or frightens the sea birds, but just makes the hour lovelier.
Especially some running days have been beautiful. For this reason I go back in time just to remember the lovely frosty feeling of December and January.
Wonderer of Nature 