(A post from Cecile’s Facebook)
I remember this.
Freddie was working, busy with online meetings in the van.
I wandered off with my camera, bravely not taking my crutch with me. Turned off the road into Canadabos, following the signs. Instant isolation.
That is the weird thing about these nature areas in Belgium. You can hear the traffic, you hear the tractors spreading fertiliser, you know that this is a small area actively protected, there are farmlands and development all around, you are not out in the wilds – and still you feel alone and you listen to the songbirds and it feels like you are transported into another world. Perhaps it is the birds? The trees? The brambles and mud and the sense of … what used to be?
I walked for a long time, sometimes faster than I wanted to – the huge ants that swarmed up my legs were slightly intimidating. Encountered one friendly jogger, heard lots of small birds that I just could not see, and found unexpected spiders. Avoided the black mud, grew tired and got to a clearing – and there in the distance was the van! Only a short walk away! I looked at the mud. I thought about trespassing, I felt unsure… and turned back.
A long walk again, but good. Saw a colourful butterfly, heard more birds, had a lot more thoughts.
