Out and about on foot

Of course my adventures in the Scottish Borders are not restricted to car journeys. Frequently I walk, usually with Rueben, although sometimes I have to drive first before we can start our walk. Nominally this is a dog walk but although I haven't told Rueben, really these are photographic expeditions. Not that I'm loaded down with tripods, lots of lenses and a large SLR ,that happens only occasionally. Normally I just take my instant camera with me, which fits in a pocket of my coat. I walk on the country lanes despite the fact that there is a right to roam in Scotland. Sadly I'm too chicken and perhaps still a bit too Dutch, to venture onto private land, however much I might be entitled. At least that means I don't come face to face with large cows, or even bulls, pregnant ewes, little lambs or large, irate farmers. There is enough to see from the lanes and I don't need the aggravation or to wear wellies.

The advantages of walking over driving are many! First of all you really do see a lot more on foot and you have the opportunity to have a closer look at things all around you. Because I'm usually in the countryside, there are many fences which can be put to good use to put Rueben's lead around, so that I don't get camera shake due to his antics. Walking also gives me time to think, time that I value deeply and need as part of my daily life. Of course the big disadvantage is that I get lost in my thoughts, just keep on walking till I suddenly realize that I have walked for over an hour and that means an hour's journey back to the car! When we turn around we very often discover that behind our backs big black clouds have formed and are aiming in our direction. Fortunately today they were kind to us and it only started to rain once we made it back to the car.

But walking most of all provides a very close-up view, which is usually very interesting but can sometimes be alarming. When I spotted the above image, I was very much afraid that this was a dead bird attached to the fence as part of some atavistic ritual, unknown to me.

But when I ventured even closer in a perverse wish to know what was going on here, I discovered nothing more alarming than a large piece of a sheep's fleece that somehow had wound itself around the wire. There was also some red, but again it wasn't blood (really, my imagination tends to run away from me at times!), but red dye, used to tell the farmer which ram has seen to the ewe which lost part of her fleece. Sigh of relief all round but it made for a fascinating picture, my blip for today.