Moments of Joy

[shep]

OK folks. When did you last have one of those 'moments' outdoors.

Last night I went for a dusk bimble in my local woodland. I sat down to see what might appear.

5 minutes later a barn owl swept onto a branch about 20ft away from me. As soon as it set eyes on me it silently disappeared down a corridor of trees, its wings catching the last of the failing light. It was a truly beautiful scene that near-enough brought a tear to my eye.

When did bushcraft or nature last bring you that kind of pleasure?

 

[HillBill]

I have them everytime i look outside at the moment. The place is buzzing with life. We have all kinds of birds using the connifer as a cheap motel

 

[Toddy]

Sitting watching the newts in the back pond an hour or so ago, and a wren came down beside me, flittered along the edge of the pond picking out tiny things not more than two feet from me I hardly breathed in case I moved and startled her Beautiful.

Kind of special

atb,
Toddy

 

[Humpback]

Not a bushcraft moment. But when I saw Susan Doyle on Youtube confound everyone with her fantastic singing on that talent show.

Bushcraft one seeing a small herd of deer on the shore of one of the islands in Loch Lomond on a Monday morning (when the neds had gone), in silence, from a canoe at very close range (25ft).
Alan

 

[MartinK9]

Not a bushcraft moment. But when I saw Susan Doyle on Youtube confound everyone with her fantastic singing on that talent show.

That was a good moment wasn't it?

 

[drewdunnrespect]

when a pigeon came and dropped its brown smelly load on my mates head a few months back lol

 

[Wilderbeast]

had this amazing moment in hatfield forest, picked up the trail of a roe deer, very fresh it was.........followed it for about half an hour, rounded a bend and there she was 20 meters in front of me, I stared at it and it stared back, both of us frozen in wonder, it was so still I thought it might have been a cardboard cut out, then I deliberetly broke gaze and looked up again quickly...........it scampered across the track into the woods, truly truly magical.

 

[British Red]

Most recently two sprig to mind.

Last saturday, three red kites caught a thermal off the concrete farm yard in front of the cottage, When we went outside they were...as high as the chimneys?
We watched them soar for 10 minutes

Yesterday we wtache two cock pheasants square off and fight for territory. The whole raise, dip, kick ritual.

Both were fantastic moments.

They pale to insignificance to the short eared owl that has moved in and I still haven't seen (but have heard several times now)

Red

 

[w00dsmoke]

A couple of days ago in my bivi bag sitting in the ditch of an old bronze age fort high up on the morrs overlooking a blackcock lek site at 4am. The light slowly appeared with both the sun and moon in the sky, the whole world appeared to be alseep below me except for me and a handful of blackcock, warbling and screetching away to be illuminated on the crest of mound not far away. Woodcock chased each other along the woodland edge below, grouse gebaked gebaked away in the distance; and I was cosy in my bivi, scope and flask by my side as I counted the birds as they displayed. Awesome. That's twice this week so far. It just so happended I ripped my gastrocnemius muscle in my calf on the walk back to the truck and I'm now on crutches...doh! So that's next weeks obs out the window!

 

[WolfCub]

A couple of days ago watching my kids and friends at the edge of Grandads pond dipping with plastic beakers and nets. The delight, horror and fascination when they caught a dragonfly larvae was priceless !

 

[firecrest]

I get those moments just sat drinking cups of tea and alike. Simple minds, simple things!

 

[pwb]

A couple of days ago watching a Lapwing swooping again and again at a Cock Pheasant in the middle of a field.
Poor old Pheasant just stood there looking rather confused .
Quite a display of flying by the Lapwing though.

Pete.

 

[wanderingblade]

Last sunday, sat in the middle of sand dunes watching the wind catch the sand and re-shape the dunes before my eyes - tiny little 'landslides', sand banking up against a strand of grass - a beautiful little microcosm.

Also found a great place in the dunes right by the sea to camp.

 

[DavidJT]

Spinning for Sea Trout at night from little Islands off Gothenburg, when 10ft in front of me a seal surfaces in the moon light. There's a moment of calm mutual examination, before the seal slips back under the water. I'm left tingling all over...

 

[locum76]

Bimbling about the orchard last summer checking for damage to the trees and fruit. I wandered down through the long grass to check for hazelnuts in the hedge and just about stood on a baby roe deer in the grass. That was pretty cool.

Although Its probably the same chuffing deer thats been nibbling the side shoots off the trees through the winter.

 

[Nat]

Couple of weeks ago when i took my eldest out for a night out with some friends. She tried wood sorrell for the first time and liked it so much she now looks for it when we're out for a bimble.
It really brought home just how much she actually takes in when i show her simple skills.

 

[Ozhaggishead]

This was the first think that came to mind reading this.......

My daughters first fish!!!!!!!

 

[East Coaster]

Find the right mushrooms when you're out foraging

and those 'moments of joy' can last for hours

 

[Opal]

Seeing my g/daughter make her first Holy Communion.

 

[shep]

Great posts to read and it's all inspirational stuff (including that singer - I checked her out on youtube!).

It's not quite what I had in mind, but the kids do never cease to bring these moments.

Listening to my 3-year old explain to her grandfather that the sap comes up from the ground in Spring to make the leaves grow on the trees was priceless.