Spotted!

Merlin was particularly excited when we got into the field today as he could smell the deer. They must have recently passed through so he raced around, head high sniffing the air. After a minute or so of fruitless pursuit he thought better of it and returned to my call, had a biscuit and got on with his current favourite pursuit of searching for fallen apples in the grass.

My day started with a standing meditation class. Today we held our positions for ten minutes each. It was quite challenging but I managed to complete them without the need to rest. Eva our teacher is so knowledgeable and patient, and encourages me as a new comer - something I greatly appreciate.

I spent more time at the allotment this morning, cutting the grass, doing summer pruning of the apple trees and putting down more wood chip on paths. It was good to have an opportunity to do some maintenance tasks rather than harvesting and weeding which can become all consuming at this time of year.

This evening I joined the tai chi class run by my ex-colleagues. I’m really enjoying remembering the forms - which I learned several years ago but have since lapsed practicing. I’ve some way to go to get to my previous level of (low) competence, but it feels beneficial to be practicing again.

This evening I’ve been resting, listening to the sounds around the house and in the garden, and watching the light fade. The evenings are noticeably drawing in now. Sun set was at 20.53 this evening.