How I live the wild life, why I love wildlife. It's Not Unusual to Enjoy the Countryside.
Go wild in the country.
I grew up living in the countryside, I am a full blown country bumpkin and proud of it. I'm used to seeing farm animals in the fields around me, I have a massive amount of respect for farmers and the work they do. I am greatly inspired by my environment and grateful for my beautiful surroundings.
I have heard it be said that the countryside is boring, well I don't believe that for a second. It's true that we don't have cinemas, bowling alley's, nightclubs or theatres on our doorstep. Shops are limited and our nearest shopping centre is well over 25 miles away. But what I can show you and tell you about first hand, is all the wonderful things that we do have and why I would not swap my place here in the country, even if you paid me.
One of the biggest draws I feel for my home location is the wildlife, I am surrounded by it. The animals and plant life are amazing.
Below you will see a small selection of photograph's I have taken on a typical walk, near to where I live. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I have enjoyed taking them.
There are many reasons to love the countryside and wildlife, here are just a few.
It's magical.
I love this photo, the contrast of the sun on the daffodil heads and the shadows under the dark leaves was a very nice surprise. I find the colours I am lucky enough to encounter regularly, very vibrant and rich.
Under the leaves in this picture is a plethora of insects, hundreds of them all working busily away. However they are so well hidden, you wouldn't think it just by looking at this.
Many fictional stories have been inspired by nature and wildlife, the far away tree, Winnie the pooh and the hundred acre wood and more recently Harry potter. It's easy to see why, just a glimpse of wildlife can fire an active imagination and trigger a story.
It's full of colourful charicters.
And I don't just mean the people! I caught this friendly chap on film and I think he is very handsome. There is a strange misconception that all animals are afraid of humans and will pretty quickly scarper if you get to close to them, I find that actually if your quite and friendly, they will have no problem with you being around at all.
My new four legged friend was very approachable and although it may seem like a 'lucky find' it's not unusual to find them frequently around in these parts. On the moor especially so. Not only do they often feel comfortable enough around you to let you stroke them, they may even pose for you too!
This doesn't just apply to horse's either, if you are still and silent, you can often find that sheep, cows, birds and even rabbits get curious enough to approach you.
It's good for you.
Living in the city is stressful, for the most part it means trying to have it all and trying to do it all, well I'm not that driven. Because we are surrounded by technology we absorb Lot's of positive ions, which is bad for us and can lead to depression. The countryside is full of wonderful fresh air and Lot's of negative ions, which help alleviate stress.
Free exercise in the city means high resistant tower running, free exercise in the countryside, means long walks surrounded by scenery like this.
I also think the importance of wildlife is easily forgotten or disregarded, tree's are chopped down without being replaced, even though they are imperative for the creation of oxygen. New buildings are built when it makes much more sense to repair and use the ones we already have.
Sadly if we keep using up resources as disregardless of them as we do at present, we will not be seeing the likes of green fields like this anymore.
It's beautiful.
When I took this picture I was trying to capture the fish in the river. (Doh!) However if you look (very) closely you can still see a few. Yet even though I didn't quite catch my intended subject, I still think there is beauty in this picture.
There are many more reasons to appreciate wildlife and I have only touched on a few reasons here, if you can't possibly imagine living in a place like this but may just want to visit, I'd sincerely recommend that you do.
