This post remembers a short trip to Gósol in Berguedà (Lleida) which we took in May 2006. In my diary I wrote about visiting the 11th century castle ruins and finding no one there. "It was very peaceful to be there listening to the birds and the distant clang of cowbells." With two friends I went out to walk at 6.30am, making it part of the way up the mountain of Pedraforca. "It was really special being up so early, seeing the sun slowly creeping up behind the mountains and casting its shadows across the hills and valley."
Saturday, 31 January 2015
BLAST FROM THE PAST - 2006 - A trip to Gósol and Pedraforca
Every now and then I want to use this blog to share photos and memories from past adventures in Catalonia.
This post remembers a short trip to Gósol in Berguedà (Lleida) which we took in May 2006. In my diary I wrote about visiting the 11th century castle ruins and finding no one there. "It was very peaceful to be there listening to the birds and the distant clang of cowbells." With two friends I went out to walk at 6.30am, making it part of the way up the mountain of Pedraforca. "It was really special being up so early, seeing the sun slowly creeping up behind the mountains and casting its shadows across the hills and valley."
This post remembers a short trip to Gósol in Berguedà (Lleida) which we took in May 2006. In my diary I wrote about visiting the 11th century castle ruins and finding no one there. "It was very peaceful to be there listening to the birds and the distant clang of cowbells." With two friends I went out to walk at 6.30am, making it part of the way up the mountain of Pedraforca. "It was really special being up so early, seeing the sun slowly creeping up behind the mountains and casting its shadows across the hills and valley."
It's the little things...
One of my friends complained that I post too many pictures of creepy-crawlies on this blog, so he won't be too pleased with today's post which features a caterpillar that turned up in the house. Before releasing it into the garden I took a few photos. The next task is to try and identify it...
Thursday, 15 January 2015
Nature poetry
When I started this blog I only thought about sharing videos and pictures of wildlife in Catalonia. However, I have decided to allow this blog to evolve naturally and to include other things that interest me (all related to nature in some way). So, today, I would like to share a William Wordsworth poem which highlights the importance of simply communing with nature and letting it into our lives without seeing it as something to study or dissect. A throstle, by the way, is a song thrush (for those who didn't already know).
Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?
The sun above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all this long green fields has spread.
His first sweet evening yellow.
Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.
She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless-
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:-
We murder to dissect.
Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.
The Tables Turned
by William Wordsworth
Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you'll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?
The sun above the mountain's head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all this long green fields has spread.
His first sweet evening yellow.
Books! 'tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There's more of wisdom in it.
And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.
She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless-
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.
One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.
Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:-
We murder to dissect.
Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
Finding a wild spot in the city
It isn't always necessary to head out into the countryside to find some wildlife. Yesterday we were in the centre of Granollers, near one of the industrial estates, and we saw plenty of birdlife on the River Congost. Our best spot was an elegant grey heron (Ardea cinerea) of which I did not get a very good photo but which I will include here to show the urban environment in the background with all the graffiti! There were also many gulls who flew close to our camera when we were watching them from a footbridge over the river.
Thursday, 1 January 2015
First wildlife spot of the year
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)