The afternoon had a rather different shape ... it is the Twenty One Acre Wood ... but not for a day off ramble. I was there to be recorded by BBC for this Sunday's morning worship. Of course, the dog had to be there as well and his heavy breathing and some distant barking is also likely to be part of the programme.
There are a number of programmes over the next few days that will concentrate on the Wild nature of the province so the morning service has three clergy reflecting on spirituality and nature ... mountain, woodland and sea.
My input is on the woodland with open meadows ... a place to which I go for refreshment and time for reflection. In the Twenty One Acre the dog can run freely and I'm able to concentrate on my own thoughts. It was interesting to be recorded along with the birdsong, the sound of the train going to Bangor and the other noises of the open air. It's a very different experience from being in the sound proof studio.
Not that he seemed to notice or to mind!
I don't suppose he knows that he'll be on the radio on Sunday!
Radio Ulster at 10.15 am ....
On the way back up the cliffs there were some bluebells peeping out ... real, wild bluebells .... not the cultivated ones that are appearing everywhere. The colour is so much more intense on the wild ones and the bells longer .... altogether a very different looking plant.
This new "friend" is only seven months old and was a bit intimidated by Eliot at first. They became inseparable very quickly and his owner had a bit of a job to persuade him to leave!
We're now in the season for a great variety of wild flowers ... this one reminds me of childhood when we used to shoot the plantain heads off aiming them at one another! An early form of paint balling without the mess!
The journey back to the car took us through this little stand of trees ... it is one of my favourite corners of the entire woodland and the light filtering through the fresh foliage is stunning. There are always plenty of smells to occupy my companion as I play with taking pictures. That's the thing about nature ... you never become tired of watching the changing seasons and appreciating the great variety in smells, colours and vegetation.
I'd been thinking about Psalm 8 before the interview started ... when I consider the heavens, the work of your fingers ... what are human beings that you care for them ... yet ... you have made them little lower than the angels ... they are crowned with glory and honour ... O Lord our Lord, how glorious is your name in all the world!
4 comments:
As a fellow, but part time, dog walker I'd love to know where the Twenty One Acre site is? Please tell Eliot I'll tune into his Sunday show on iplayer...
Crawfordsburn!
Go right through the country park and just after the exit there's a lay-by on the left (about 50 yards from the exit). Park there and you're right beside the 21 Acre Wood ... it's on that side of the road with the entrance gate that says 21 Acre Wood! Fantastic place and, as you can see, if you go through the woods and meadows you'll eventually come to a path that takes you down to the sea! Free and dogs go freely off the lead and it is one of my favourite spots!
Thank you for that - not hard to miss then! We do take Danny - the - Dog to Crawfordsburn but it would be good to have somewhere he doesn't have to be on the lead. One problem at the beach is that he swallows seawater which then purges his GI system in both directions, but he does love the sea...
Oh, we used to shoot the heads off those weeds as well, by looping the stem and ready, aim, fire! Glad to know that's an international game. :-)
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