The Wildside
 

Dear all,

This thread is for anyone who is a sober nature lover. It's for the appreciation of the natural world, and the inspiration and energy it gives to those who love it.

I will be posting regularly, and it would be just wonderful if anyone else feels like joining me on the wildside.

:ham4

Hello everyone,

My wild experience today has been a bit limitted, just 15 minutes watching some crows playing about in strong gusts of wind. They seem to love it, riding the wind like experienced surfers. When they'd got fed-up with that, however they then congregated in my garden and proceeded to demolish the bird feeders. Hungry work this flying business.

Hope to have more exotic wildness tomorrow,

Love to all fresh-air fiends on SR.
:abca:

Well, it's been a windy, wet day here. In the interests of wildness, i've still been outside for a jog/walk (I'll call it a jalk).

Had a couple of quizzical glances from a male pheasant and some rabbits, but I must have looked sufficiently bedraggled to pose no threat as none of them ran away.

And no-one has told the hedgerows about the recession because they are abundant with life, and smell just gorgeous.

Anyway, the main reason for todays post is to recommend a windy, wet walk in nature to anyone who has some difficult "brain work" to do. It clears the head, and energises the mind better than anything I can think of.

Wishing fresh air and abundance to all,

:abcf:

I love living where i do - I don't think it was coincidence I move here after I got sober :)

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...s/beach007.jpg


not my photo but it's also where I live :)

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...9a34dfed0a.jpg

D

Recently found my fishing rod after a "losing" it for a year & took the opportunity to get out Sunday morning for a few hours of Trout fishing. Can't recall the last time I had such a great time & the solitude & sounds were nothing short of amazing. Not to mention catching an eighteen inch Brooke, second biggest I've ever caught.

Great thread, BTW!

I went on vacation in April and stayed sober the whole time. One of the places we went was the Pantanal in Brazil. (Google it if you're curious.) In the past I'd have wanted some weed or other things while "in nature" but being sober made it a lot more fun.

Here are just a few of the pics we took.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1...D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1...D550/ry%3D400/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1...D550/ry%3D400/

Yes, I will join you on the WildSide.

I live in the centre of a huge city, but there is a gorgeous and huge ravine just a block away from me and it's a place of refuge for me. I soak up the quiet, the fresh smell of plants and trees, love the creek, the sound of the birds, all of it. Walking became a passion for me many years ago when I began to recover and the ravine is one of my favourite places.

In my dreams, I'm on the beach where Dee lives! :c031:

Thanks for the thread

From my camping trip this past week:

https://cid-ef0614fba9b0186c.office....s/DSCF4357.JPG
[IMG]http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...y/DSCF4340.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...y/DSCF4345.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...y/DSCF4348.jpg[/IMG]

nandm do you live in the Pacific NW?

nice pics btw.

I'm heading out on a SOBER vacation later this week, camping and enjoying the great outdoors, I can't wait.

When I think of how much of the world and of life I just used to miss...this thread really makes me smile :scoregood:

D

Yes, I am so thankful to live here. Oregon is a beautiful state as well as Washington

Eagles across the cove
 

OK - this is an experiment - not handy when it comes to attachments, but I'll try. These are eagles that have obviously picked this lake to be their territory. Was hoping they would nest there, but they didn't. They landedng about 500 feet from my home in one of the large pines. Never saw a live eagle before this, but have many times since (taken 2009).

Wellwisher, great picture. I have been watching a live stream on two eagles that hatched 3 eggs. It is amazing to watch them grow. This is the website, if you love eagles it is worth watching Decorah Eagles, Ustream.TV: The Raptor Resource Project brings you the Decorah Eagles from atop their tree at the fish hatchery in Decorah, Iowa. To make a...

Boo...I can't post pictures just now but Thanks for the thread.

I completely agree that a wet windy walk is one of the best things in the world...also the water is good for my soul.

WW...awesome eagles!

Nandm...one day I will get to the pacific NW:)

good pic

Thanks, Nandm....I happened to stumble onto the eagle cams through an e-mail link my cousin sent to me at the beginning of the year.

First I started watching the Outdoor Channel's webcam in Shepherdstown, WV. There were two eagle eggs; one hatched and the other was not viable. On St. Patrick's Day, the one egg hatched and they named it PaddyO. It only survived for about a day or two, (very sad - and yes, animals grieve - heartbreaking). The interesting part is that, knowing that eagles tend to mate for life, it seems a third eagle (now suspected to be male) interfered with the nest, and there was a lot of fighting going on around the nest during that eaglette's first day. Could have distracted the parents enough to not have fed the baby enough, or another theory is it got trounced on during one of the fights in the nest itself. The original male eagle has not been seen for quite some time now, and it appears the female is now mating with the new male (but it is too late in the year for new eggs) They don't think the original male died - it was forced away from the area. This is supposed to be very, very unusual eagle behavior.

Then, I switched to Turtle Bay webcam. There are two babies (now with five foot wing-spans - about 7 1/2 weeks old). They named them Stormy and Windy. Seems we'll have a success story there, thankfully.

They face such challenges - eagles being hit by planes, environmental factors, you name it, they have to deal with it. All in the name of progress.

I am grateful for all land trusts and people with foresight - it is so important to preserve these open lands before they become another condo or shopping mall.

Have a good one.....

Wow, everyone's post have sent a shiver of joy down my spine, I want to pick up my tent and start trekking across the globe to see it all!,

The world is so amazing.

Anna, you're right, even in the city there are natural places which inspire.

One of the most memorable homework assignments I had at school was to find a square foot of grass and just watch it for 10 minutes. I was enthralled by all of the life I could see in just that tiny space.

Wellwisher, the eagles are incredible.

Thanks Nandm, for the webcam link.

I've a few days off work, so i'll be checking out some wild places around here!

Have a great day.


:c031:

I hope everyone has a great weekend :D

D

One of the budding roses at my door - not really 'my' roses - they were here when I arrived and they'll be here when I leave - I just prune them every so often

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/c...rose305002.jpg

D

Wow, that's perfectly shaped - great picture. I know this is OT, but.....

Are roses really as temperamental as I've been told they are? I received some tea roses about six years ago, and they are so bunched together (and actually, one got choked out) that I need to move them, but every year I never get to move them in the early spring. When I think about it, they already have flowering buds on them and then I'm afraid to move them. They're getting leggy, too.

You think I can just transplant them now?

I really have NO idea wellwisher - it must be a great spot for these roses because all I do is literally prune the thing once a year - thats it, and it flowers all year round (I live in the Pacific)

I hope someone else will know :)

D

Wellwisher,

I wouldn't move it while it's in flower, wait until autumn if you can.

If you absolutely must dig it up now, then it might be best to sacrifice the flowers, just to keep it as strong as possible, to help it recover.

Roses are funny things, they seem to either like you or dislike you, and if they've got it into their heads to dislike you, no matter how much time and loving attention you give them they'll still shun you! Dee, you've obviously got what it takes!

WW Hope someone else may be able to give you more advice.

I was awake at 4.45 am this morning, and was able to listen to the birds' morning chorus, absolutely fabulous. How do creatures manage to wake up and get straight on with the day, I need a cup of tea before I'd be willing to sing.

Have a great holiday monday everyone, hope some freash air is on the menu today!

:wiggle:

I will definitely join you on the wild side!! i love this!
i just got back from my lake house.. not too wild. but i did get to be out of the city. im excited cause i am planning a camping trip soon, and i will have to post some pics!

Well, it's an absolutely gorgeous evening here, sun is low in the sky, beams of light cascading through the cloud formations, and even treated to a wonderful rainbow. Who needs a television, when there's weather out there, no licence fee needed.

Gorpus, great to hear you're blessed with a wildside too!

I guess I'll have to figure out how to post my pics! :)

lol, undone, I did it once but will probably be scratching my head when it comes to posting the next picture...

Gorpus; glad to see you here

Thanks for the rose info IMLF - decided to wait on moving them! They'll live to see another day, if I have nothing to do with it lol

Hello everyone!

Well, I have certainly leaned on nature to get through the really tough times. I have found it very grounding when I was losing my way. I had a favourite lamp post that I would take photos of earlier this year - I think I was mesmerised by it and the surrounding bay and it gave me focus and strength. Here it is again!

IamLivingFree, thanks for starting this thread. Awesome!


Rosco.
Life=Fun; Alcohol=Devastation.

Rosco, great to see you here. The natural world really does put our troubles in perspective doesn't it. Everything about it never ceases to amaze me.

I learnt recently that the light from a particular star, has taken so many years to reach us, that the light we can see actually set off from it's star before the Earth even existed. I think that's mind blowing. Everything seems to be connected in some way.

I know i'm probably a bit biased (being a human and all), but I love to see pictures of our Earth from outer space, it is a particularly beautiful planet, how did we get to be so lucky?

Undone, I haven't got the technology for pictures yet either! great you've joined us in words though!

Have a great day all.
:c031:

Getting really, really close to nature - I took this photo from the leafy floor of a beautiful nature reserve. I hope everyone can get as close as I did just by looking at the picture.

Rosco.
Life=Fun; Alcohol=Devastation.