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So I was getting into my car and this bloke says to me: "Can you give me a lift?" I said: "Sure; you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it." Tommy Cooper Success is doing what you plan to do whatever the results. John Watson |
Walking in Petts Wood and The Hawkswood Estate Page 15
Sunday August 1st 2004 A Sad Life I headed off again with the camera hoping for a photo of the peacocks.Unfortunately there was just the one peahen on the barn roof this morning. The rest were probably sleeping in late. My good friend, David, says I must live a sad life spending all this time chasing after photos of peacocks. Maybe he has a point! Tuesday August 3rd 2004 Swimming pools for all Yesterday, no peacocks were around although I took some photos of parakeets. Today I photographed two peahens. One was walking around and the other was standing on some cement bags. No one was on the roof. I am still heading off into the woods, slightly later, at about 6.30 a.m. and few people are about except for the occasional jogger, cyclist or dog walker. There has been a heat wave over the last few days. I shall be delighted when it disappears. I am planning on buying a house with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool in the future. I shall then be able to enjoy the heat waves fully. There is nothing better than swimming in a heat wave and then drying off by lying on the hot paving surrounding an outdoor swimming pool. I think one of the main aims of the government should be to ensure that every one has easy access to an outdoor swimming pool in the summer and an indoor one in the winter unless of course they are wise enough to live by the sea. Wednesday August 4th 2004 A Cheerful Noise I headed into the woods today with my digital camera slung over my back ready to capture more peacocks and parakeets. But the woods were empty of people, peacocks and parakeets. I didn't see a single person, dog, peacock or parakeet. However, I did hear the parakeets as I passed their favourite trees. As usual, they were making a loud cheerful noise unto the Lord as it says in the Psalms. I then realised that I, too, had been making a cheerful noise. I had been singing snatches of the Marseillaise, The Man Who broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, a hymn (Thine be the Glory) and a slow march from the trooping of the colour. The sheep nearby didn't seem to mind or even notice. Most life gurus say that one should focus on the positive since you are then more likely to attract the postive into your life. If you focus on what you worry about and fear then you are more likely to attract negative things into your life. It is a good idea, therefore, like the parakeets, to forget one's woes and troubles and just make a cheerful noise unto whoever you believe in even if it is only yourself. Monday August 9th 2004 Friendly Slobber It was extra humid and hot last night and the morning
had the promise of thunder in the air. Fortunately the splinter fell away quickly. Slobberchops, meanwhile, was blissfully ignorant of the hassle she had caused. Labradors are so good natured that most labrador owners hardly even notice the slobber. Last week I took a photo of P's dog, Bonnie. She is a beautiful and enthusiastic wood fetcher. P throws pieces of wood in all directions and Bonnie never tires of rushing off to get them. She is so keen on pieces of wood that she destroyed a cricket game by rushing off with the solitary stump marking the bowler's end of the pitch! Thursday August 12th 2004 Crows make wing to the rooky wood In fact the line from Shakespeare above should in this context read 'Crows make wing to the rooky tree'. The photograph which will be up shortly will show you some crows on the large tree in the middle of the best looking field at Tong's farm. My sister asked me why the photo was not in colour. It was but the weather makes it look grey.
There were also three parakeets on three branches of the parakeet tree adjoining the above field and numerous little birds on the telephone wire. The recently shorn sheep are now in a field between Tong's farm and the Kyd Brook. The main songs I have been singing this week for anyone who remembers the sixties have been Hey Jude and Sloopy. I have always wondered who Sloopy is and how did she get a name which reminds you of a boat? Any answers to jwatson301@btinternet.com Saturday August 14th 2004 The song for Friday was the Marseillaise and the song for today was 'Hey Jude'. I met Bonnie and her owner P early on today and we indulged in non-stop stick throwing and fetching. The fetching was of course performed by the ever enthusiastic Bonnie. I felt that I should be doing the fetching as I needed to lose weight and just walking isn't enough. Very few people were out in the woods today. Maybe they were having a weekend lie in or watching the Olympics in Athens. Bonnie wasn't worried about the Olympics. Her whole focus was on the stick she was chasing. Sunday August 15th 2004 Lucky shots? I met up with Bonnie and P again. Bonnie was still obsessed with sticks. I am still mildly obsessed with the green gunge which is still on Flusher's pond even though I have given up the attempt to drain it off the pond. P tells me the cause is the nitrates that have been put into the field near the pond. These are causing the algae to grow fast. He thinks a hard winter might kill them off and clear the pond. Later, however, I met one of the warden's volunteers who said that nitrates are not used on the fields. He believes that nitrates from the gardens and road near the stream that flows into the pond are more likely to be responsible. I finally took some reasonable photos of the peacocks as you can see.
Some might say I was lucky to get these shots but the reality was that I was prepared. I had been lugging the camera into the woods for days and even weeks ready for shots like these. What is the lesson here? Expectation often creates the situation you expect and preparation in advance allows you to take advantage of it Tuesday August 17th 2004 Familiarity breeds lack of concern Today I captured a fairly close up photo of the brown foal. The flash from the camera startled it and it trotted swiftly away. When I photographed him later in this week, he contemptuously turned his back on me and did not appear at all anxious. Familiarity breeds lack of concern. I was a little late getting out so I met the 7 a.m. walkers rather than the 6.30 a.m. walkers. Friday August 20th 2004 The Gargoyle in the woods I met P and Bonnie in the woods today. P had been to school in St Nicholas Church of England School during World War II. The boys main interest was in tanks and guns and war. He told me how one of the their teachers had arrived at school on his first day. The boys at the school knew he had been a navy gunner and deliberately tried to distract him from the main topic of the lesson by asking gunnery questions He ended up spending the whole lesson talking about how the Bismarck could be destroyed. You could have heard a pin drop. They even stayed after school to hear more. Afterwards P realised that their new teacher had simply used one of their major interests at the time to teach them the lessons he had originally planned to teach. Another teacher spent several of her lunch hours bringing him put to speed in a subject he was weak in. He was fortunate to have two such great teachers in the early stages of his school career. Later, nearing home, I met a lady who asked me if I had seen the gargoyle. It turned out it was just behind me. I had completely missed it because I was walking away from it rather than toward it. We all see or fail to see things because of our different view points. Take a look!
Saturday August 21st 2004 Effort rewarded The gargoyle is still there! I photographed the horses again. They are now used to being photographed and seemed mildly interested. It has been raining fairly heavily this week so there are plenty of puddles about. I managed to turn my ankle as I crossed between two puddles and ended up putting my foot into one of them. I thought of taking a photo of my wet foot but thought better of it you will be glad to hear. When I got home I watched the early Olympics on TV. Great Britain won rowing gold early this morning in the coxless fours. Matthew Pinsent, rowing stroke, won his 4th gold from 4 Olympics and was in tears on the rostrum. I was as well! I don't know why! No wonder he was in tears. The effort it takes to get into an Olympic rowing team, let alone win gold, is colossal. The Canadian team missed gold by about 7 inches. They are world champions and probably felt gutted that they had missed out on being Olympic Champions as well. They have four years or possibly the rest of their lives to get over it and probably never will. There is more great sport to look forward to today. The England cricket team are about to wallop the West Indians for the fourth test match running. Such moments are rare as usually the West Indians are formidable opponents. The English fast bowler Harmison had a good innings batting as a tailender last Thursday and fueled by this success he went on to bowl brilliantly and make life very difficult for the West Indians. Flintoff, the English all rounder, has a similar experience every match. Success breeds success. One commentator remarked about him: "When a dog has his day, everything goes his way." Sunday 22nd August 2004 Hero for a day This morning showed a rerun of the English cricket
success on Channel 4 to the song "We can be heroes, We can be heroes, We can be heroes just for one day." It is hard being a hero for a week. We can all manage one day. I was late into the woods today and as a result saw about 15 joggers and about 15 walkers. I said "Good Morning" to a couple of walkers who just nodded back as if the effort of speaking was too much for them. Most people smile back and return a greeting verbally. I think they will probably have more friends than the first two walkers. Give and it will be given to you but not necessarily by the same people to whom you give. On the path near the gargoyle I asked a couple of ladies if they had seen him. One had and the other had not. The one who had, mentioned that on the tree opposite was another gargoyle. It is not as clear as the original one but it does look like a mother bear with a cub lying sideways beneath her head with its mouth wide open.
The same lady who saw the bear mentioned that there was a gargoyle of the devil in the rhodadendron pathway. I had a look and found something that might be the gargoyle but, as she said, you do have to use your imagination. It has an ugly face with horns on its head. I put a photograph of it but decided to delete it for reasons explained in the next paragraph. Is there a lesson here? Yes, definitely. We see what we are looking for or what we want to see or what we are afraid of. And what we see can often become reality. Tuesday 24th August 2004 Today I met a lady who had seen a crocodile on the way to one of the exits from the woods. By crocodile I mean one made of wood. She was a bit vague as to where it was but your intrepid reporter will take a look and bring back what he finds in the form of a digital photo. I was late into the woods this morning but glimpsed a peacock on a fence at Tong's farm. My photo had to be from a distance as I am not like the paparazzi and do not like to intrude on the privacy of the farmers at the farm. I also photographed the white horse as it turned its head to look at me and the brown foal as it lay on the ground nearby. Flusher's Pond was full of water from last night's rain and I attempted once again to get the gunge flowing from the pond. I took a photo of the area where I do this. Another photo was of the Kyd Brook in full flow from the rain. Wednesday August 25th 2004 Don't get too close to me I had the chance to photograph a peahen on top of the barn roof but as I moved a few feet closer she became a little nervous and moved down the roof. Further up Botany Bay Lane I photographed a pigeon on a telegraph pole. It too moved when I came in closer. Animals and birds have a strong survival instinct. They rightly fear for their lives if any animal or human comes too close. Humans should share the same fear as this is a basic principle of self-defence. If a human being gets too close back off or tell them to back off. They may have a knife hidden away and once they are in close, you will have little chance of avoiding injury or death. A common trick is to shake your hand with their right hand while they stab you under your right arm with a knife held in their left hand. Nearing the gargoyle in the woods I met one of the volunteers who told me there were hobbies and sparrow hawks in that area. A hobby looks like a peregrine falcon but has spots on its chest and a beard. Thursday 26th August 2004 It's never too late to learn I carry my digital camera with me nearly every day now as something worth photographing always seems to turn up. Today, there was a peacock on a fence in a position much closer than last time but still too far away for a decent photo. A peacock and peahen were on the roof of the barn. I removed some gunge from the pond. This is easier to do now that the water is high as a result of the recent rain. I also photographed some leaves so that I could learn more about which tree is which. I haven't checked out nature this thoroughly since was in my early years at school about 50 years ago. It's never too late to learn. Saturday August 28th 2004 Sing your affirmations Recently I read a great suggestion about affirmations. Try singing them. As I walked through the woods today I started with I am H A P P Y This is a favourite with Sunday schools and Christian youth camps as it leads on to I am S A V E D Other words can be used like WISE as Double U (W) has two syllables I am W I S E One can also use the full word instead of separate letters like I am wealthy, wealthy, wealthy I took a photo of a peahen on the roof but not much else. I was too busy singing the above affirmations! Sunday 29th August 2004 I'm strong, I'm strong, I'm strong Nothing much happened of note today apart from singing "I'm strong etc." I did, however, meet up with the ladies who had pointed me to the devil gargoyle. However, the one I had found was not the one they had found. Their's was from a rhodendron bush. Mine was from a tree. One of the ladies mentioned a lizard gargoyle she had found in the heathery area opposite Soldiers Field. I set off to look for this but took the wrong path and ended up on one hand and knee under a large log in a thicket in the wrong part of the woods. I gave up on the lizard for the time being and had a half hearted look for the crocodile but I was again probably in the wrong area of the wood. If what I am saying sounds mad to you read earlier on in this chapter especially the 'gargoyle in the wood' section. It will probably still sound crazy but, hopefully, less so. Monday August 30th 2004 Do it anyway My latest obsession in the woods has been gargoyle hunting but I occasionally revert back to earlier obsessions like gunge removing. The water is high enough in Flushers Pond to release some water and gunge with it so long as twigs and leaves are removed out of the way. I am doing this again with little effect. But I am convinced that a key law of success in life is to continue doing something even if the results are not immediately apparent. Eventually, though not always, results will come. So keep doing it anyway. I took another look for the rhodadendron pathway gargoyle of the devil but had no luck. I mentioned this to a couple I was chatting to and they said I was clearly not sinister enough to find it. No luck with the lizard gargoyle either although I did discover a very vague looking face in a hollow tree not far from the warden's house. I also found two tree trunks which made a handy substitute for a deckchair in the middle of a part of the wood which is full of heather. I hope these gargoyles are not giving anyone nightmares! Tuesday August 31st 2004 Fragments of hope Breaks in the gunge are now appearing. These are probably some minor results from the draining work I have been doing. Such gleams of hope are enough to keep you going and doing it anyway. My sung affirmation for the day was: I am healthy, wealthy and wise Who needs Hey Jude? Home
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