I must admit, when I woke up this morning and saw the weather, I wasn’t expecting much.
In fact, I had every intention of working, but the rain soon decided it had other ideas!
One of my few jobs of the day did produce a nice surprise though. I spotted a mullein moth caterpillar and thought that would probably be about the highlight of my wildlife sightings for the day.
How wrong I was.
Later on, I took the dog out for a walk and, despite the weather doing its best to put me off, off we went. The rain was steady, the wind wasn’t helping and before long my socks were thoroughly soaked thanks to some very wet grass.
Not exactly ideal conditions.
As I walked, I started noticing one or two things. Then a few more. Then a few more after that.
A snail clinging onto a grass stem in the wind. Insects sheltering amongst the vegetation. Raindrops hanging from blades of grass. Flowers looking completely different covered in water droplets. Even a couple of hares made an appearance.
None of it was particularly rare or dramatic, but that’s not really the point.
What today reminded me is just how much there is to see when you stop rushing and start looking. I wasn’t searching for anything specific. I wasn’t hoping to find a particular species. I was simply paying attention to whatever happened to be there.
The more I looked, the more I found.
By the time I got home, I’d taken far more photos than I ever expected to on such a miserable day.
I think we can sometimes fall into the trap of waiting for the perfect conditions before heading outdoors. The sunny day. The blue skies. The ideal photo opportunities.
The trouble is, nature doesn’t wait for perfect weather.
It carries on regardless.
The insects are still there. The birds are still there. The flowers are still there. The rain itself can become part of what you’re noticing.
Today’s walk was a good reminder that you don’t need to travel miles or visit somewhere special to enjoy nature either, what I saw was right on my local patch, and all of it was only a few feet from where people walk every day.
So if you’re taking part in #30DaysWild, don’t let a poor forecast put you off.
Pull on your boots, head outside and see what you can find.
You never know what might be waiting just around the corner.