I have been absent from my blog for a long while. The last couple of months have been particularly busy both at work and at home, with a couple of pesky illnesses that derailed and drained me, leaving no energy for anything creative. If you have been reading my musings for a while, you will know that for me one sure way to recharge the batteries is to go for a long walk in Essex countryside, let my mind wander, away from technology (save the phone for its camera, of course) and the general buzz of life that can be a bit overwhelming and stressful. With the memories of the recent sad events here in London and in Manchester, I was craving a get away from the news and information overload.
So I slapped some SPF on mine and Simon’s skin (good job I have found the one I love!), packed a small bag with essentials like fresh water, got some comfy hiking shoes and out we went.
Enter the beautiful Essex countryside. It is summer time, it is not too hot, gentle breeze and sounds of the birds singing all around… It truly is beautiful, it is on our doorstep, yet we forget that some of the best pleasures in life are so close and are free!
Horse grazing on the grass
I love horses but I have never had much experience of interacting with them – they are big and a bit intimidating to me. On this occasion, I was glad that we were on the other side of the fence from these horses, and they were too busy to pay any attention to us.
White horse in the field
The colourful nature never seizes to amaze me, and this beautiful small tortoiseshell butterfly is so beguiling and mesmerising. I enjoyed watching the soft and gentle wing movements while it was basking in the mild sunshine, luckily, I managed to take a quick snapshot of it without disturbing the butterfly.
A Small Tortoiseshell basking in summer sunshine
Then we came to this beautiful view over the dots of bright red poppies in the lush green. And what a beautiful sky above! I could stare at the clouds forever…
Beautiful sky over the field with poppies
It brightened up a bit whilst we walked further, and this little cutie came to greet us and was curious to see if we had anything nice for a treat. To our mutual disappointment, we had no treats (why on Earth did I not think of grabbing a carrot or two on the way out?!), so the cutie gracefully turned around and walked away and continued grazing on the luscious green grass.
The herd of cows with the young ones were also enjoying the juicy marshland grass – they were not afraid of us at all! So we got quite close to them. They are really beautiful and healthy looking bunch, bless them.
After three hours or so we came home, feeling nicely tired in our bodies, but our minds refreshed at the same time. Well, a nice cup of tea is in order and is all we need to finish this perfect afternoon!
I hope you enjoyed this little walk around the Essex countryside with me. What is your favourite way to recuperate from all the life’s hustle?
