ESCAPE!

For a few weeks now my husband and I have been feeling the need to escape the city and spend a weekend somewhere peaceful. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, we were able to do exactly that, this past weekend. My friend is a ceramic artist and once a month he uses an outdoor kiln to fire some of his work.


He had done this last week, so this week he was going up to empty the kiln. (It takes a week to cool after the firing!) The kiln is located in a beautiful valley, beside a stream.
The work he produces always seems to me to have a wonderful living quality to it, some of the pieces seem as if you turn your back on them that they may scuttle off!
This one was a particular favorite of mine from this firing.
We spent our time sitting in the grass, listening to crickets chirping, birds singing and bees buzzing. Couldn't have asked for a better alternative to sirens wailing, traffic roaring and planes droning!
The evening consisted of sitting by a camp fire, looking at the stars, chatting and cooking steak on the open fire, just the kind of pace we were looking for. On Sunday we continued the hectic pace by snoozing in the sun, walking through the fields and looking at the local flora and fauna.

There were brilliant blue damselflies all around the stream, I haven't managed to determine the exact species yet but I suspect it is one of the Bluets.

There were also masses of butterflies, tiger swallowtails, black swallowtails, pearl crescents, red admirals and monarchs. Also this delightful little Chickweed Geometer moth Haematopis grataria, this one is a male (check out the branched antennae)
Of course the stream was brimming with life, both invertebrate and vertebrate
It never ceases to amaze me how much better I feel after spending just 48 hours enjoying nature and not hearing man made sounds. It is better than any medication or psychiatrists office! Thanks Jay.

Photo Credits - CJT