Whilst there are leaves on the trees I am going to be talking about autumn!
And oh my – the colours are getting more beautiful every day, especially when you have a cold and slightly misty morning like today to highlight the reds and yellows and oranges. I’m picking numerous different “favourite trees” on one walk. But that’s good, because I’ve been reading about the benefits of being attentive to the small things as you walk, turning an otherwise ordinary event into what is being known as an “awe walk”. It’s simple to do and there are no side effects! Don’t let the darker mornings and the colder weather put you off. Look out for the beautiful light at sun rise, the colourful skies at sun set, the autumn leaves, the stars on a clear night, the rain drops landing in a puddle, the quacking of a duck. Remember the awesome can be found anywhere if you look for it, so don’t let the colder weather put you off going outside.
I’m still picking up the occasional conker, in fact in the last week I have found some of the best! Beautiful brown shiny beasts still in their spiky shells. A few weeks ago I started to limit myself to only picking up the ones in their shells because my collection was getting out of hand. However I was able to put some of my autumn bounty to good use when I created an autumn mandala. I’ve also made a wee video to encourage you to make one of your own!!! We’d love to see your creations over at the Green Volunteer Network facebook page.
Also a final call for anyone who fancies finding out more about ways to get your groups outside. We appreciate that with the increased restrictions, we’re all really limited with even what we can do outside, but this session running on zoom at 10.00am on Wednesday 21st October will also give you ideas for outdoor activities that your clients and service users can do on their own. The information about choosing sites and making sure what you are doing is safe will also stand you in good stead for getting going as soon as we’re able to meet up again. If you want to get involved, get in touch sarah.burgess@vaslan.org.uk