The Sunshine Award

I Have been privileged to have Kerry, from Ventura Upon Thames award me with the Sunshine Award.

She writes a wonderful blog about family Life as an American in the UK, please check it out!

Thank you Kerry!

According to the instructions, I am supposed to:

• acknowledge and thank the giver, link it back, and put the award on your page;
• answer 10 questions about yourself found below;
• pass the award on to 10 or a random number of bloggers (I’ll nominate only five for now but may add to this list later) and notify them.

So to the questions:

What is a real fear you have?
That those I love and care for will at some point have to overcome adversity and suffer and I will not be able to help them. I guess I value being strong and being able to protect the people I care about but the truth is that at times there are difficulties that you have to go through alone. I have had obstacles to overcome that have caused me great pain and I would hate for my loved ones to go through that. but I realise that the reality for most people, is that at some point in their lives they will be in a dark place and only they will be able to effect a change.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
As kid I wanted to be Mowgli from jungle book so naturally I wanted to grow up to be Tarzan!

As an adult with a mortgage and responsibilities I still want to be Tarzan!

What are some of your hobbies?
My love of the outdoors and adventure is clear and the subject of my blog but I also love gardening, growing vegetables, reading, drawing, art and crafts and cooking but often these take a back seat due to not having enough hours in the day. I have just began to help bee keeping with my friend, it is fascinating!

What hobby would you like to start?
Ever since reading Kes as a child I have always wanted to try Falconry, I would also like to try horse riding. I am fascinated by nature and love something about the primitive bond and relationships that man and animals can share.

If you could tell people anything, what would be the most important thing to say?
Respect yourself, from loving and respecting yourself comes love and respect for all things. Learn to love yourself and you will understand that you have unlimited potential!

Name one item from your “bucket list”?
I am training for an Ironman triathlon. I would also love to run an ultra marathon. My list is so long it’s beyond most people’s imagination. the main thing is not to waste any time ever and keep chipping away at the list

What’s the best prank you’ve pulled off?

I once put an egg down my wife’s knickers and then slapped her bum breaking the egg….don’t think she thought that was the best prank I’ve ever pulled, I also once text my wife to tell her I had bought a Canadian canoe at a car boot-sale, I sent her a picture of the canoe and she was not impressed as we did not have the space for such an item at the time. When she returned home from work, she found out that the canoe belonged to an action man and that I had used clever angles with the camera to make it look bigger 🙂

Not sure why she stays with me really?

What book are you planning to read next?
I am currently reading David Attenborough’s The First Eden: The Mediterranean and man

It is an amazing book that chronicles man’s history and mythology along with nature and geology and how they have all impacted upon each other in the Mediterranean.

Next will probably be James Lovelock’s GAIA: a new look at life on earth

The Gaia hypothesis proposes that living and non-living parts of the Earth form a single entity that adapts in order to sustain life

Coffee or tea?
Gunpowder Green tea

Lemon torte or chocolate cheesecake?
Neither, I have enjoyed some of these lovely raw whole food snacks lately though:

http://blog.trailcooking.com/2012/05/11/raw-raw-and-well-raw/

Now my nominees:

Travels with the Blonde Coyote See more of the world…on foot and on the road! This is one of the first blogs I ever followed and is packed with wonderful images and adventure stories, top of the list!

The Weekend woodsman Woodsman in training, enjoying the forests and fells of Finland. A fantastic blog giving me an insight into adventures in another part of the world!

The Mountain Library A reading list of mountaineering, mountain culture and travel, just need to read more of their reading list!

Joshi Daniel photography Images of People Simply some of the most striking images on the web!

Ahucah One of the most prolific Barefoot Bloggers!

 

Thanks again to Kerry for the nomination, thank you to the above blogs for educating and entertaining me and thank you to anyone who made it to the end of this lengthy post!

Home

I often long to see the world, to feel all the world has to offer

I move quickly from place to place, so as not to miss a thing

But when I slow down, I see the thing I have been missing

home

I Was born in a seaside town , a place most folk want to escape or simply take for granted.

I love this place it’s a part of me!

Slackline

The past few weeks have been manic and the mania is set to continue through this month, with both work and play. All this is giving me plenty of material for blog posts, just not the time to lay them down.

With me being run ragged; here there and everywhere, I realised I needed to steal the odd hour to slow things down and bring a little balance. So I’ve been sneaking off to the park with my slackline.

The Slackline helps me focus and relax

Everything weighing heavy on my mind is replaced by focus and balance

As I improve though, this calming influence is now leading to aspirations of taking things further:

Yosemite Falls High-Line from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Perhaps I have a long way to go to get to this level, but this relaxing pursuit encouraging me, I have got my heart set on tackling some highline adventures soon!

Why not?

You see things; and you say ‘Why?’; But I dream things that never were; and I say ‘Why not?’ – George Bernard Shaw

I am continuing to have a difficult time with this world as it  is, so I’m changing it with everything I do.

These shots were taken on a day riding alone.

A day so Bleak that no others dared venture outside, I found this place and made it my own.

I didn’t encounter another soul for six hours but I didn’t miss them, they missed this.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Doorstep Safari Photos

This is a small collection of pictures taken close to my home. Our gardens are filled with such a diverse collection of creatures that you can go on your own doorstep safari and enjoy some of the most magnificent wildlife hiding within a stone’s throw of your own home.

[click on images to enlarge]

You just need to look closely and appreciate things which would usually be taken for granted!