The Saints and Sinners of Summer...maybe?
21st August 2019
21st July 19
The Saints and Sinners of Summer...maybe?
Summer is a funny time of the year. It is obviously pleasantly warm, the days are long, but it is also busier (in the countryside hotspots at least) plus there are armies of biting insects wanting literally your blood (from the insidious midge, to the nefarious, demonic surgeon like Horse Fly).
Then there is the Tick!
This little b’stard will find you! It sits patiently waiting from the smallest blade of grass or frond of bracken. And with the lightest of brushes of a bare leg the tunnelling, blood sucking mite will launch onto you and then roam across your vulnerable skin hunting out a dark, moist weakness in your epidermis shield. They are almost invisible to the eye and even more invincible to the post walk shower.
As someone who enjoys photography I do not want to be limited, or directed by the location, direction and elevation of a clear path. It makes me take the same picture as everyone else, plus it isn't necessarily allowing me to access my sense of creativity. I want to be able to move across the land to compose an image in the way I see it. At this time of year this, however, often means I am having to wade through forests of tick filled bracken to access a crag or stream.
The Tick along with its army of biting and blood sucking mercenaries make the relaxed exploration of the landscape slightly more stressful.
Today I was heading into the rocky hills of Duddon. The air was fat with warmth and each small ascent required more than the usual effort as I pushed up against a wall of heat. Like a scene from a John Carpenter zombie movie, the summer monsters were out in force and they had one purpose only - me!
As usual I was using quiet, untrodden routes, so the undergrowth (a misnomer as most of the bracken was above my head) was thicker and more challenging. As I forced my way through the tough branches of bracken it felt more an expedition into a thick jungle rather than an excursion on a Lakeland Fell. If I was seen wielding a machete it would not have been out of place.
With effort I slowly waded through the green wall of ferns, but I was becoming more conscious that I was being immersed into a green, supersaturated sea of Ticks. This made me hyper alert and hyper paranoid. Every chance I had I was checking myself to see if I had black specs crawling over my exposed skin.
All too often I would see a bit of dirt start to move across my leg. It was another Tick!! Having, over the years, discovered many Ticks imbedded into me, I feel I am fighting the laws of probability against Lymmes Disease. Hence my over sensitivity.
However, this paranoia was becoming too much of a distraction, and added to this stress when I stopped walking the Horseflies seemed to find me, with (in my mind) their sharpening tool ready in hand.
Despite this concern, I was blessed by the company of some wonderful wildlife. My ‘forest’ of bracken was filled with flitting Redstarts. These red backed birds were diving in between the branches of bracken with an amazing flying skill. This was Star Wars - Death Star style and as each bird flew off it steered through a complex and very narrow maze of the bracken.
However, despite my temporary disturbance, I imagine these and the other birds, were enjoying the abundance of Ticks and Flies much more than me.
Then there were the amount of butterflies all around. A bumper year it seems. In particular there were Painted Ladies, Peacocks and the less obvious, but equally beautiful Ringlet. They all flitted and swerved their way across the verdant canopy, as if they were high above a miniture rain forest.
All around the edges of the bracken was the glowing purple spears of Rose Bay Willow Herb, spikey thistles, Knapweed and St Johns Wort. Each plant was being visited by an abundance of colourful and interesting insects. Fruit flies, butterflies, Bees and beetles all in an amazing array of colour and size.
....and this is the rub!
Summer is warm, which ensures any journeys into the landscape are comfortable and more accessible, but this makes these places busier. The main routes and well known locations are filled with folk.
The days are longer, with the Sun high, so there is plenty of time to do things; but this makes it harder to capture the drama of a landscape as the light is harsh and their is little contrast to define a composition. The days are warm, making it a wonderful time to shed off the heavy clothing of winter and allow your exposed skin to feel the air. It's a reminder of the days when we were children, but the days are also more full of biting insects who have only one objective, to taste your blood.
I am never happy, I know. However, (saints be) seeing so many birds and butterflies was a pure joy and made me ignore (to some degree) the onslaught of the summer sinners.
The Saints and Sinners of Summer...maybe?
Summer is a funny time of the year. It is obviously pleasantly warm, the days are long, but it is also busier (in the countryside hotspots at least) plus there are armies of biting insects wanting literally your blood (from the insidious midge, to the nefarious, demonic surgeon like Horse Fly).
Then there is the Tick!
This little b’stard will find you! It sits patiently waiting from the smallest blade of grass or frond of bracken. And with the lightest of brushes of a bare leg the tunnelling, blood sucking mite will launch onto you and then roam across your vulnerable skin hunting out a dark, moist weakness in your epidermis shield. They are almost invisible to the eye and even more invincible to the post walk shower.
As someone who enjoys photography I do not want to be limited, or directed by the location, direction and elevation of a clear path. It makes me take the same picture as everyone else, plus it isn't necessarily allowing me to access my sense of creativity. I want to be able to move across the land to compose an image in the way I see it. At this time of year this, however, often means I am having to wade through forests of tick filled bracken to access a crag or stream.
The Tick along with its army of biting and blood sucking mercenaries make the relaxed exploration of the landscape slightly more stressful.
Today I was heading into the rocky hills of Duddon. The air was fat with warmth and each small ascent required more than the usual effort as I pushed up against a wall of heat. Like a scene from a John Carpenter zombie movie, the summer monsters were out in force and they had one purpose only - me!
As usual I was using quiet, untrodden routes, so the undergrowth (a misnomer as most of the bracken was above my head) was thicker and more challenging. As I forced my way through the tough branches of bracken it felt more an expedition into a thick jungle rather than an excursion on a Lakeland Fell. If I was seen wielding a machete it would not have been out of place.
With effort I slowly waded through the green wall of ferns, but I was becoming more conscious that I was being immersed into a green, supersaturated sea of Ticks. This made me hyper alert and hyper paranoid. Every chance I had I was checking myself to see if I had black specs crawling over my exposed skin.
All too often I would see a bit of dirt start to move across my leg. It was another Tick!! Having, over the years, discovered many Ticks imbedded into me, I feel I am fighting the laws of probability against Lymmes Disease. Hence my over sensitivity.
However, this paranoia was becoming too much of a distraction, and added to this stress when I stopped walking the Horseflies seemed to find me, with (in my mind) their sharpening tool ready in hand.
Despite this concern, I was blessed by the company of some wonderful wildlife. My ‘forest’ of bracken was filled with flitting Redstarts. These red backed birds were diving in between the branches of bracken with an amazing flying skill. This was Star Wars - Death Star style and as each bird flew off it steered through a complex and very narrow maze of the bracken.
However, despite my temporary disturbance, I imagine these and the other birds, were enjoying the abundance of Ticks and Flies much more than me.
Then there were the amount of butterflies all around. A bumper year it seems. In particular there were Painted Ladies, Peacocks and the less obvious, but equally beautiful Ringlet. They all flitted and swerved their way across the verdant canopy, as if they were high above a miniture rain forest.
All around the edges of the bracken was the glowing purple spears of Rose Bay Willow Herb, spikey thistles, Knapweed and St Johns Wort. Each plant was being visited by an abundance of colourful and interesting insects. Fruit flies, butterflies, Bees and beetles all in an amazing array of colour and size.
....and this is the rub!
Summer is warm, which ensures any journeys into the landscape are comfortable and more accessible, but this makes these places busier. The main routes and well known locations are filled with folk.
The days are longer, with the Sun high, so there is plenty of time to do things; but this makes it harder to capture the drama of a landscape as the light is harsh and their is little contrast to define a composition. The days are warm, making it a wonderful time to shed off the heavy clothing of winter and allow your exposed skin to feel the air. It's a reminder of the days when we were children, but the days are also more full of biting insects who have only one objective, to taste your blood.
I am never happy, I know. However, (saints be) seeing so many birds and butterflies was a pure joy and made me ignore (to some degree) the onslaught of the summer sinners.