18th April 2026
It was a chilly early morning walk through Bakethin last Monday and whilst wandering with a cold breath and hands i had an instant thought of “ i am exactly where i need to be “ . I had not had a feeling of belonging for over 15 years , the last 10 years i loved my rented cottage in Nidderdale and the community of Masham , North Yorkshire but it did not ever feel home.
There was a deep sense of belonging to the environment as i moved through the landscape , it felt like the trees and plants were pleased to see me , wanting me to tell their story , that they too belong and need us to protect them and in reciprocity they provide us the necessities of life.
The still photography i take is not motionless as it passes by our eyes and captures our hearts creating an ancient feeling , a connection which we have forgotten. We cannot put a word to it as it resides deep within our body rather than in a dictionary. But it is there waiting patiently till we return back. It is not intellectual knowledge , knowing the plant names or anything of the mind it is an inner knowing that we belonged together as one.
To develop our re-connection back to nature and see everything in awe and beauty takes time , there are no instant hacks to building love. It takes intention and mindfulness to enquire deeply into our nature family , our co-creators and what loves us back without condition.
Although a gentle forest bathe soothes , holds our mindfulness for longer and benefits our health it takes more to re-connect to source of life . We have to work at compassion for nature and that still photograph that you may take , or a video of a bubbling brook is reciprocity to engage with others , to spread the word that our nature family is in need. Lean into creating a better inclusive community and let those who wish to dwell in negativity or dominance be, as they too suffer.
The tree cares about your expression of love and the courageous vulnerability in sharing not whether it fits into a creative narrative.
Bakethin Nature Reserve
The first two hours last Monday early morning were at zero degrees creating an opaque frost and grounded me as my cold hands touched the metal camera . The winter pale blue skies are warming up , there is a tinge of red deepening the blue and no matter how some photographers think of it as flat , i welcome it along with the trees with gratitude. I couldn’t resist looking at the cold frost and then sunlight touching the same edges of the new spring buds. It felt like i was blessed with two mornings for the price of one.
The Dandelions reveal themselves as the warmth of the sun rises in the sky , these little pockets of goodness are becoming more abundant now and there seems to be a wee competition with the Gorse to the best yellow. I cannot wait for the seed heads to appear so i can make a wish, but not wanting to wish away my moments especially right in the best part of spring when everything is about to pounce.
It is still 80% winter time along the woodland paths but you notice little glimpses of something about to transform the place. What is not seen and anticipated is exciting and that realisation that nature is showing you the romance of the unknown rather than anxiety. Sometimes it is difficult to have faith that life will be kind to your endeavours which we can be more like nature by leaning into the feeling with quiet stillness watching those thoughts as passing storm clouds , nothing to push away and nothing to grasp.
Let everything be.
Look at what emerges right now as natures art , its perfect in being imperfect , it displays itself regardless and i know that it doesn’t have a host of mean critics putting it down but remember this , it is more about the insecurities that critics have than about you.
Some would say “make your own rules “ but what i have found is light hearted playfulness lets the flow of life unravel itself through joy without making your life conditional.
Bull Crag Peninsular
Another cold frosty day this week but with the added cold mist lurking over Kielder water and a bright sun trying to burn its way through creating the old grasses to sparkle. I love these clumps of grass along the verges beside the reservoir , seeing them through their yearly cycles and the mist so amiable in helping them pop out in the environment for me to photograph. Their colours of golden browns with strands reaching as high as they can are a feast for my soul.
I am so curious on how people disregard Grasses as i see them as mother natures gift to humanity , we should revere them , adore them as they are designed by earth to be collected , turned into food , clothing , crafts. As Robin Wall Kimmerer says , grasses flourish in a relationship where they have interaction with all creatures.
Regardless of purpose they are beautifully exquisite just being grass.
I had found this solitary clump of delicious yellowy green grass , the first to be seen along the peninsular and i could not resist showing them to you all. Why would a sunrise be anymore as beautiful as this before you ? Earth has birthed life right in front of your eyes. They are extraordinary and remarkable and i could not walk by them without honouring such humble creations and to remember that it is the small things which make the biggest impact on life through persistence.
Along the open parts of the walk beside the reservoir some of the trees which have the fortune of placement have expressed themselves with unfolding buds and newly formed leafs which create their identity. I am grateful to witness this unravelling of life with its different cadences of light and moments of being. I spend time investigating the open buds and also note the tiny buds of potentiality as upon my return i can celebrate them too.
The golden brown leaves of last year and the newly made olive green meet along the path making a fun journey of collecting the old and new as i walked through a frosty mist. It was not forecasted but for sure a pleasant surprise to begin my wanderings. I soon warm up as i am met with cheery birds coming to see what i am doing and casting love spells into the air.
For me its not a particular date but it is the birds which announce spring time , i think the trees wait for their magical songs which awaken new buds. Immerse yourself in the magical songs of the birds in spring by just sitting in silence and when those thoughts invade just focus on one particular song until you settle.
I have a lovely spot which i always stop for a coffee and just to be still feeling the energy. Sometimes our present awareness is focussed in a flow of doing that we need to zoom out and feel it all. Quite often , knowingly that it will be discarded take a photograph of the view but today the frosty mist cast a beautiful monochromatic view which i loved so here it is.
In the Wild , Painting
Nature
Celebrates
Self
Expression
Top Left : Watercolour on 56 × 76 cm Bockinford Watercolour Paper
Top Right : Watercolour on 33 × 50 cm Fabrinno Oil Paper
Middle Left : Watercolour on 170 × 250 mm Leda Supplies Sketch Book
Middle Right: Watercolour on 140 × 210 mm Watercolour Sketch Book
Bottom : Watercolour on A3 Canson Watercolour Paper
Hareshaw Linn
At the moment the woodland is heaven for me and i wish to get close up and look at the intricate markings of a new budding leaf . I am still so curious about what remains and how it has manifested and what seemingly looks dead has new life from it and it guides me that life is never wasted , nothing is lost , it is being resilient in starting again and letting the past be an enabler of whats to come. You cannot evolve without having a past as a foundation, those scars you carry are places where new beginnings bud from. Failure and success is only a perception from given beliefs what really matters is continuing so you may thrive.
There are wisps of vibrant leaves like playgrounds of tree children playing in the guarded spaces of the branches and soon after the spaces will fill with greenery and the structures of the woodland disappear into the background. So many times in my life i have missed this transition living a binary life of not experiencing each little moment , not savouring it senses and dulled by my over thinking reactive mind. I pay my gratitude to my mindfulness teachers the wonderment of living fully.
And then there is the green , oh , an ode to lushness and vibrancy. Without kneeling down in respect for such gems you cannot appreciate how gorgeous they really are in their freshness. How can you see the flickers of yellow promising a delicate flower and as the encompassing leaf darken the further out they are when you are striding by with a headful of thoughts. Let the green in , let be the past and future , and enrich your soul with right now.
