Poll of the Week #6 - Nature & Aging

[Shambles]

This is something I’ve definitely noticed.

I’m totally involved in observing the family of foxes that live in our garden.

I live with five cats that provide endless love, comfort and entertainment.

I even find myself starting to get interested in birds.

This seems to be a pattern with many as they age. You?

 

[placebonaut]

I'm slowing down and noticing/apprenticing things more, which is making me want to go outside more.

quite content with a nice amble down the same country lane because the hedge seems to change each time I visit, spotting the changes is is very satisfying.

starting to crave and enjoy a slower pace of life

 

[F.U.B.A.R.]

I wasn't particularly interested in nature until I moved from the city of Nottingham to the arse end of nowhere in Cheshire at the age of 9.

Even then, it bored the fuck out of me until I met an older lad (14) who took me camping, fishing and shooting.

Slowly, I discovered the delights of grubbing around in the hedgerows for discarded nuddy mags.

Also, going shagger baiting in the laybys and secluded car parks of dark, wooded areas (yes, me and my mates invented dogging, though I never got to join in... )

But it was when I started working on farms in the school holidays at 15 that my appreciation of nature really began.

Unfortunately, instead of following that path, I decided to move to a shitty northern railway town to work at MFI (anyone remenber them?)

Been trying to get back to my roots ever since....

 

[chippermonk]

I have been an utter freak for nature since forever. Camping, hiking, backpacking, observing nature has been my thing. My source of fulfillment and ecstasy. Kind of hard to do it any more than I already have been doing.
On the other hand I've been depressed the last few years and withdrawing some from being out in nature, which is a pity because it is such a reliable mood booster. Obviously I need to change that. Trouble is that my knee has been fucked up and holding me back. I need to learn to adjust but I struggle.

 

[Robi]

I wasn't particularly interested in nature until I moved from the city of Nottingham to the arse end of nowhere in Cheshire at the age of 9.

Even then, it bored the fuck out of me until I met an older lad (14) who took me camping, fishing and shooting.

Slowly, I discovered the delights of grubbing around in the hedgerows for discarded nuddy mags.

Also, going shagger baiting in the laybys and secluded car parks of dark, wooded areas (yes, me and my mates invented dogging, though I never got to join in... )

But it was when I started working on farms in the school holidays at 15 that my appreciation of nature really began.

Unfortunately, instead of following that path, I decided to move to a shitty northern railway town to work at MFI (anyone remenber them?)

Been trying to get back to my roots ever since....

I thought I invented dogging in the park, its suffice to say ,I might just be wrong.

 

[chippermonk]

What kind of doggies are we talking here? And what are we doing with them?

 

[Robi]

I have been an utter freak for nature since forever. Camping, hiking, backpacking, observing nature has been my thing. My source of fulfillment and ecstasy. Kind of hard to do it any more than I already have been doing.
On the other hand I've been depressed the last few years and withdrawing some from being out in nature, which is a pity because it is such a reliable mood booster. Obviously I need to change that. Trouble is that my knee has been fucked up and holding me back. I need to learn to adjust but I struggle.

What kind of doggies are we talking here? And what are we doing with them?

No real dogs allowed !!!!!

 

[placebonaut]

 

[Ki3ly]

I have always liked and haven't changed in being interested in nature. And is my vote.

I used to love nature so much and I still try to be a part of it whenever it is possible
of course. Floating is a favorite. The ocean, tubing, the rivers and lakes.
The mindfulness of psychological, emotional, and spiritual health in nature is a great perspective
of awareness then. To me.
It's a great part of being connected to something in some way.

And still is until my life collideds with emoji's.


The word "wow" is primarily an interjection used to express strong feelings of
surprise, wonder, pleasure, admiration, or shock by being awesome.


And also, to me, it means wow amazing and i completely understand.
The intended "wow" react post. From the popular internet emoji's.
However Nature is really great as well.

 

[M!$TER-ED]

Can't say I'm more involved in nature than before....kinda comes and goes

 

[Ptahtek.2.0.1 beta]

This seems to be a pattern with many as they age. You?

since im a whitey and proudly had dreadlocks i spose ill post in a european and african sub

ot
yes absolutely.
there is nothing more comforting (to me) than observing nature as long as their is no violence involved... like predator and or bullying shit.

i feel that this aging process has made some huge impact on my daily living. yep... reckless at times but reliably. lol

dont take this darkly as it is meant to be the opposite (paradox):
i have even started seeing what this shell will become when it finished. the trees, thre grass. a birds nest. a meal for a hungry animal. hey whatever im cool with that but to see myself living in the now surroundings is a whole notha leve of perspective - to me - and i am feeling it quite uplifting so far.

regeneration > reboot


ed

I might just be wrong

wtf is the world coming to. i mean just when i thought things were a fucked as they could get we now have a Robi questioning them self. really...?
wth is next fuckit im as ready as ive ever been and will ever be.

 

[Bleaney]

Definitely, and fully with you on the feathered bird thing Mr S.

Unfortunately the part of Manchester I live in has a paucity of bird life. It's like 99% pigeons in the city centre, and barely anything else, although there are some flocks of very urbanised starlings, and the further away you get from the city centre the more other species there are.

Although there are loads of Canada Geese and the occasional bedraggled and sorry looking Heron by the canals.

Where I live, a mile or 2 from the city centre, Magpies have established a continuous and firm hold, which is something I'm very pleased about. I think this happened since more of the streets of terraced housing had trees planted along them, including the street I live on. After years of nothing but sodding pigeons, Magpies make a very welcome addition!

If given more nesting opportunities house sparrows will also flourish, and their numbers increased massively 3-4 years ago. It was lovely to see sparrows flying in and out of my back yard all day, thanks to the opposite neighbours allowing their shrubbery to become massively overgrown. Unfortunately they gave these shrubs a severe pruning a couple of years ago, and now I only see the occasional sparrow, as their nesting habitat has been all but wiped out.

I actually saw my first Manchester Robin ever in my back yard a few times earlier this year, which I was greatly encouraged to see, but sadly he/she has not stuck around. Maybe there was a lack of mating opportunities or nesting habitats, not sure.

There's Murders of Crows wherever there's lots of big old trees and plenty of grassland. I do love Crows, with their raucous calls and Gothic imagery, and the apparent very high intelligence of many members of the Corvid family is pretty interesting.

There's a variety of ducks and geese in the big parks with small lakes.

Some of the leafier, posher suburbs have blackbirds darting around, generally looking for worms etc on the lawns of the posh people that actually have quiet, secluded, back-garden lawns and often also some trees, in the city's more outer suburbs.

But that is pretty much it.

I used to live in mid Wales, and obviously there was so much more birdlife there. You didn't have to be rich or posh to have lawns, and room to grow trees on your grounds, and loads of birds back there. All sorts of Tits, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Jackdaws, Jays (I don't see either of these magpie relatives here in my part of Manchester,) Wood Peckers, plenty of Buzzards usually keeping their distance, and in very hard winters they'd come to my parents bird-table, much to their delight, and only mild enthusiasm and interest from me, at that time. I just took it all for granted!

Your theory definitely rings true in my experience, and also applied to my parents, (mother and step-dad, and also my father who lived in different Welsh towns, not right out in the sticks, like us.)

I dunno if it's remarkable or not, but I only ever saw one fox, out in mid Wales, blinded by our car headlights on a narrow country lane, very late one night, but I have seen urban foxes in Manchester a few times. And have certainly heard the commotion when they mate in the small hours of night, when they have the streets all to themselves, and don't get bothered by humans being everywhere, all the time.

 

[sh1vambuDancer]

i go deeper & deeper. watching more. learning more. seeing more, getting closer to animals again without them perceiving me


consciousness. not age. but slower, better blundaries, standards = more solitude, generally

this year I've attuned with foxes in the village wayyyy more; and birds generally seem way less spooked by me. the odd squirrel too. i get CLOSE!

picking & eating loadsa yew berries this month!