Nov 21st trains and bracken BLOG # 13
On the train today were 4 ladies, early to mid thirties, I’d say, talking loudly to each other, all with the same style white-blonde highlighted hair and geometric cut. All with manicured nails and expensive-looking jewellrey. I was wondering; where were they going? Do they work? What are their lives like?
The train affords a wonderful view of the countryside it passes through, from the forests near where we live to the urban sprawl of Reading, where I change trains, to the congested inner-city of London, as you get closer to Paddington.
The bracken and ferns have turned a reddish-gold brown. The forest looks damp and muddy, and it smells really earthy. Pine trees reach up to 60 foot high and harbour many birds. Now the leaves have fallen on the other trees, you see ivy and vines growing vigorously on many tree trunks, winding round, cladding them tightly like green sweaters.
I always thought of tree trunks as brown, but now that the eye is not distracted by displays of colour, I can see that they are mostly shades of green, as well as silver, white, grey, with beautiful patterns on the bark.
The fields are so green from the recent rain, with deep, muddy patches where cattle or horses congregate to feed. Horses graze, with blankets tied around them to keep out the chill north wind. Temperatures have dropped to around 6 degrees C (42 F).
There was a soft grey sky when I ventured out in the late afternoon with the trusty Scotties, wearing gloves on my cold hands for the first time. When I turned around, to the west the skies were deep periwinkle blue, with grey-lilac clouds and swathes of strawberry, gold and silvery-white. All of a sudden it started to hail (very small round pieces of ice), and a giant rainbow appeared, the whole arch, miles across. Heart-jumpingly beautiful. Like having your own outdoor art exhibition.
“Red sky at night...” my grandfather always told me, “..shepherd’s delight”. So, hope for a fine day tomorrow. It is much colder, with few clouds. Later, I saw so many stars. The street lamps here have yellow bulbs. They aren’t so bright, so you can still see the night sky.
I haven’t come across the fox recently on my last walk at night. I hope he’s keeping warm! We have started putting hot water bottles in the beds at night, so they are all cosy when you get in...
