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Post by mossie on Jun 8, 2014 14:58:14 GMT
In view of my next Paris visit at the end of the month I have been stepping up my walking in a vain attempt to get fit. Paris is THE walking city, in fact I believe that walking is the only way to appreciate it. When I woke this morning I was greeted by this view from my bedroom. It was only 5.00 am and I sleep in just a pair of scruffy pyjama trousers, so you won't get a shot from street level. So, when breakfast was done a walk was called for. The estate I live on borders a semi wooded heathland area and from my door I am in cover within a few hundred yards. the sun was very strong but There was nice shade from the trees Further along the path came a reminder of my wife. After her major heart attack and bypass she was advised to attempt to walk two miles a day, so we used to take two walks of at least a mile each day. One day she got desperate for the toilet so I stood guard while she went behind the clump of holly on the right. She managed to get a little scratch from the holly in the process and we often laughed about that incident Nearing home again there is light at the end of the tunnel Emerging back onto the road I have only a couple of hundred yards before I can make some coffee, my house is not in this picture but tucked away behind the houses shown The TV had been full of D-Day and these poppies just ahead of me made the right feeling Trusting you have enjoyed this little stroll.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 15:16:47 GMT
Very much so. The woods remind me of the woods in my grandparents' village in Lorraine. When my mother was a little girl, my grandfather would sometimes bring bananas (a rare treat!) home and he would say that he had picked them at his top secret banana tree hidden away in those woods. My mother said she looked everywhere for that damned banana tree and never found it.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2014 17:27:43 GMT
I so enjoyed this Mossie, thank you.
It is similar to an exercise that we take when we go to NYC. If ever there was a walking city....
2 miles a day seems rather arduous an exercise. (I know all about the having to get creative with the when you have, to go, to have to go...I just wish it not have been in a holly grove...)
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Post by fumobici on Jun 8, 2014 18:29:13 GMT
That was a lovely walk. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate beauty that is close at hand. Paris has some significant hills, that's what gets me walking. Unfortunately the hilly areas are sometimes interesting as well.
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Post by htmb on Jun 8, 2014 19:07:02 GMT
Thanks for taking us on your walk, Mossie. Your photos and narrative are wonderful, particularly the beautiful picture of the poppies and daisies. Your woods look like a pleasant place to walk and to reminisce. I'm also looking forward to getting a lot of walking in on my next trip to Paris. I would imagine it's much easier for you to walk now than it was on your trip to Paris this time last year.
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Post by mich64 on Jun 9, 2014 1:42:43 GMT
I can see that it would be a lovely walk Mossie and something to enjoy and probably not a chore once you get going.
I walked all winter in the house, I had a circuit that I would do for 20 to 30 minutes most days. Now that the warm weather is here I am out on my deck walking back and forth doing 2,000 steps at a time. It has really helped with my balance as well as I do some side to side and crisscross steps. I started this last summer in preparation for our trip to Scotland, it really did help so I continued it.
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Post by mossie on Jun 9, 2014 14:01:09 GMT
Kerouac's banana tree reminded me that we have treacle mines in the woods of Suffolk.
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Post by lagatta on Jun 11, 2014 19:09:16 GMT
Yes, there is underground pipe that runs all the way from the former British West Indies to Suffolk.
I was almost wobbly first few times on my bicycle this spring because the winter was so harsh that I'd walked much less than usual. Was really worried about getting out of shape (I'm fine now). Those woods are lovely and what a nice memory of Mme Mossie.
I like the poppies too. (You do know that the poem was by a Canadian?)
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 12, 2014 13:14:51 GMT
Mossie, this was a lovely stroll and a real incentive to find any leafy areas around our homes for walking. You are really lucky to have that woods so close to you. From the view of the houses, I'd never guess how steep the woods are. There must be some meadow area, too, judging from that wonderful poppy picture, right? Is that chamomile growing in with the poppies? Besides the exercise and fresh air, how perfect that the walk reminds you of your wife in such a fun way.
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Post by mossie on Feb 15, 2015 15:34:11 GMT
Sorry to inflict another Sunday afternoon ramble on you, but I am reopening this old thread. When my son was here last weekend we were talking about his coming visit to Madrid, where he is currently enjoying a short break. This set me thinking about Paris, where else. Although I have a trip organised it is not until May which is far to far away, so I have booked another little Paris visit for March 19th to the 23rd, if anyone is interested. With that in mind and realising that I have been fairly idle over the winter I set out this morning for another trip round our local area in a vain attempt to get fit. It is still rather wintry But it doesn't all look as grim as that There are signs that something has been around, my sense of smell is not what it was when I was a boy, but I guess this was where a fox goes across the path Further on I cross over Rushmere Corner where major paths cross You can just see a fairway on Rushmere golf course through the trees. One of these paths appears to me to be a very old track which can be traced as running from Ipswich to Woodbridge, while the other could come from the Felixstowe area towards what used to be a very old crossing point of the River Gipping several miles north of Ipswich. About here was a Roman settlement from where Roman roads heads toward Cochester and Framlingham and Norwich. All trivia but that is me all over.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 15, 2015 17:23:44 GMT
Those wintry scenes are so different from the ones at the beginning of this thread. It is certainly one of the things that makes us northern Europeans (and North Americans) appreciate the arrival of spring so much. I usually do not mind winter so much (probably because I was locked up in an office all day in the past), but this year I have started becoming impatient for the next change of season.
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Post by breeze on Feb 15, 2015 20:15:23 GMT
Hoof it, Mossie! You want to be in shape so you can stomp all over Paris.
I hope on these walks you do see a fox and it winks at you, as one to another.
You say wintry, but it looks like early spring to me. Here it got down to 1 degree Fahrenheit overnight and we had blizzard conditions without getting much more snow. This winter I got used to being indoors all the time, thanks I think to the entertainment of the internet. (Thank you, anyport). I'm just kind of numb about having to stay in, but then if I see photos like yours something awakens in me and I feel like I'm not living my real life. I bet tonight I'll dream of primroses in bloom, thanks to you.
Luckily we are driving to Florida next weekend for a few days and I'll be able to go for long walks. It’s not Paris, but it’ll be warm.
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Post by htmb on Feb 15, 2015 20:20:31 GMT
What part of Florida, breeze? It's been down to about thirty here in North Central Florida the last few nights, but you can tell spring is right around the corner. And, of course, there's no snow!
Mossie, you are a real trooper! It's so nice to hear you've planned an extra trip to Paris. With all the walking you are now able to do, you are sure to have another wonderful time.
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Post by breeze on Feb 15, 2015 21:35:01 GMT
htmb, we'll be spending two nights with a friend in Hernando. Do you have any suggestions for that area? I think she has manatees on tap and lots of springs in the area, as well as a walking trail close by.
It'll be a quick trip, 5-6 days including 2 days' drive on each end. A woman I work with online is going at the same time and told me that 70s weather was predicted. I doubted it (but not to her) since winter goes wherever we go. I hope it warms up for you soon. If it then cools off, you'll know we are in the area.
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Post by htmb on Feb 15, 2015 21:41:05 GMT
Mossie, sorry for the thread hijack. :-)
Breeze, it's 69 right now. I'd bring your layers, and plan on cool nights, warming up to nice days. You'll possibly be near where Lola was a couple of weeks ago. Yes, manatee watching is recommended, for sure.
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Post by breeze on Feb 15, 2015 22:43:09 GMT
Yes, Mossie, apologies for injecting Florida into this nice thread and for putting images of palm trees in your head. You put images of English woodlands and sunken roads in mine, so I hope we're even and happily so.
htmb, thanks for the advice.
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Post by mossie on Feb 16, 2015 11:18:54 GMT
No worries girls. But I had more than my fair share of palm trees too many years ago to remember, English woods are far preferable.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 13:26:08 GMT
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Post by htmb on Feb 16, 2015 13:57:37 GMT
Homosassa Springs is a great place to see manatees. We are expected more sub-freezing temperatures later in the week, so the manatees are sure to be huddled around the springs. From the woods of Ipswich to the springs of Florida.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 16:18:43 GMT
I love it when folks follow up with a variation on a theme. This being a fine example. I love, loved the lushness of the original pictures but, I also love seeing how Mother Nature segues as it were into repose. I have a special affinity for bare trees. It allows one to see the "bare bones" and sculpture of a tree we are accustomed to see "dressed" in foliage. Thanks for this.
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Post by htmb on Feb 16, 2015 16:48:43 GMT
I, too, love seeing the contrast in seasons. The photo with the poppies is my absolute favorite. I am looking forward to seeing your photos from Paris, Mossie. Will you still be staying at the same hotel, even though it seems to have changed hands.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 18:37:46 GMT
I love it when folks follow up with a variation on a theme. This being a fine example. I love, loved the lushness of the original pictures but, I also love seeing how Mother Nature segues as it were into repose. I have a special affinity for bare trees. It allows one to see the "bare bones" and sculpture of a tree we are accustomed to see "dressed" in foliage. Thanks for this. The only problem is that the grim bare phase lasts a bit longer than we would like!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2015 18:43:31 GMT
Yes, but when it arrives, it is such a rite of Spring, to be celebrated and one can literally feel the energy it exudes even from the most mundane of persons. Here, it's short lived and although we do have a springtime, it's not as dramatic as it is in places that experience four seasons.
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Post by lagatta on Feb 16, 2015 22:57:21 GMT
I'm not going to elaborate on how utterly horrible it is this winter, like the last. For many years, it had become much milder and I rode my bicycle at many times during the winter season.
Those are lovely photos.
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Post by mossie on Feb 17, 2015 14:44:43 GMT
Thanks for prolonging this thread. Yes I am sticking to the same hotel the position suits me and I am getting to be a right old "stick-in-the -mud" as my mother would say. Today is a great contrast with the weather, crisp cold and sunny, without a cloud in the sky. So I set out to snap something I have been meaning to take for years because I pass it 3 or 4 times a week a couple of miles from home. Properly known as a tumulus, which I believe is Latin for mound, this is the burial place of some long forgotten Anglo Saxon. It lies in an area known as Long Strops which mainly refers to along narrow strip of scruffy woodland which contains several of these old burials. Here is the remains of another, almost ploughed out, but protected by these concrete posts from further ploughing. Many have been lost to farming over the years in this way. Our landscape contains many vestiges of history and this lot stands a few hundred yards from the last This was an American telephone exchange which enabled microwave communication between the Pentagon and its outlying stations relaying messages from Europe and who knows where. We have of course our own, which I refer to as "Dalek Central", which was built as the Post Office Research Establishment, now British Telecoms and here microwave telecommunications and fibre optic telecoms were pioneered. Its parent produced the boffins who comprised some of the decoding wizards at Bletchly Park behind Enigma and produced the prototype Colossus computer in conjuction with Alan Turing, familiar now from thr recent film.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2015 19:26:28 GMT
I'm trying to imagine what that last place will look like (assuming it is not torn down) in 500 or so years if it is left to just gently fall apart like so many other vestiges of history.
Regarding your favourite hotel in Paris, I was a bit shocked by the increase in price when I compared the old rates to the new rates, but then I realised that it was not all that bad since the "Ibis Styles" chain automatically includes the full buffet breakfast in the rate. Naturally this is not a great deal for people who don't eat a big breakfast. I myself tend to stuff myself at those buffets to the point of skipping lunch.
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Post by mossie on Aug 27, 2016 16:18:52 GMT
I decided to reopen this thread to record my local area walk this morning. Again with the purpose of trying to gain a bit of fitness for my forthcoming Paris visit. This is a standard walk from home of about a mile and a half, mostly shaded, which I have shown photos from previously. It includes a path along the boundary between our parish and the next, marked long ago with these oak trees. One of these has an entrance to the underworld at its base Some are not so straight, possibly from animal damage when they were young As there are large housing estates close by there is quite a network of paths used by all ages here is smaller path where someone regularly goes for a drink Here a very strange bird is roosting Along the way are some reeds now starting to show seed and some evil nettles But at length my estate shows up, so I can soon relax with some coffee I hope you have enjoyed my little stroll.
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Post by htmb on Aug 27, 2016 16:24:51 GMT
Very nice, Mossie. Isn't it interesting how trees can twist into different shapes.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 27, 2016 18:27:44 GMT
So glad to see this newest ramble as I somehow managed to miss the Feb. 2015 one. I loved the beautiful trees and landscapes of England and very much enjoy seeing your local woods and meadows.
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Post by fumobici on Aug 27, 2016 21:11:49 GMT
I enjoyed it very much, thank you. It looks like a lovely, lovely walk.
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