About a two-minute walk from where I go to the gym, there is a pathway that runs alongside Stonequarry Creek through Picton. The path eventually takes you in Picton Botannical Gardens.
After last Sunday’s early morning gym session, I did a small walk of about 2.5km (1.5 miles). It was a choice between that and a treadmill. It was a gorgeous late Winter morning, the Sun was shining, and it was a pleasant temperature outside, so it was an easy choice.
A favourite spot I (we) like to go to relax is only about 8 minutes drive from where we live. The Nepean River wanders through the Camden District (N.S.W. Australia) and it is at its widest going through Camden.
There exists a lot there to please people and caters for a diverse amount of interests. You can:
Have a leisurely walk on man-made paths or go off-track
Kayak/Canoe up and down the river
Go for a quick dip (no sand on the bank, though)
Ride your bike along a designated Bike track
Sit by the river with a book
Sketch, Paint, Photograph
Play ball games with your friends and family
Exercise in a number of ways
Take your children to the permanent Play equipment or kick a ball
Just relax
We use it to go and relax, go for a walk and other things. I’ve been down there to sit and read, walk, sketch, paint or just sit and relax. When Susan comes with me she will either take a book or Crotchet.
Our most recent visit was just to sit and relax on one of the benches by the river. We were joined by i/2 dozen Lizards, a few Ducks and cooling breeze on a hot day for an hour or so. We are certainly blessed to have such a place so near to us.
One of the ways I’ve been ‘escaping’ in this current lockdown environment is my walks which are allowed, currently within 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) from home. We are blessed to have access to the Nepean River at Camden which is a beautiful spot to walk through (and picnic in normal times).
During lockdown and due to time constraints of the working day, I only get to go down to the Nepean River, Camden on a Wednesday and on the weekend. On other days, I just walk around the suburb. This may sound quite boring, and it could be if not for my nearly 40 years training my eye, firstly via photography and now via sketching and painting as well.
By ‘training me eye’ I mean looking within the scene and the way light interacts with a subject. There is just so much beauty around in seemingly mundane surroundings.
The following images are taken within the suburbs of the 5 kilometre radius we are are restricted to at present.
There are many benefits to be obtained from walking, with exercise being just one of them. I get ideas whilst I walk, for paintings, photos, poetry, articles and business. I either listen to Mother Nature, podcasts or music.
It is quite an immersive experience and a perfect way to ‘escape lockdown.’ I get to walk more days than not during the month. I’m not a good ‘cold-weather’ walker normally so to know that I commenced my latest walking programme in July, which is the middle of Winter in Sydney, was quite pleasing for me.
In programmed walks I have walked 51 kilometres (31.6 miles) in July, 72 kilometres (44.7 miles) in August and am around the 40 kilometre (24.8 miles) mark in September so far. In Winter I walked more towards the middle of the day and as it heats up during Spring/Summer I will walk earlier or later in the day.
Once lockdown is over I shall continue my walks and continue to view the beauty that surrounds!
I’ve mentioned a few times on this blog my love for walking and the reasons I enjoy it, namely:
Exercise leading to increased health
Idea generation
Relaxation
Listen to music, podcasts of Nature
Time out to think
Photographic opportunities
I’m located approximately 60km South West of Sydney, Australia and as I sit here today, we are entering week four of the latest lockdown, this time for the Delta strain of Covid-19.
Walking is a fairly regular activity for me and I generally see a few people out walking in normal times, however, as a friend posted recently on Facebook, ‘nothing spurs people more than a lockdown to take up exercise…’. As a result of the lockdown, there are many more people out exercising.
Whilst it is great to see more people out and about exercising, it’s a shame that it takes a lockdown to ‘spur them on’.
It probably goes without saying, but I carry my phone with me with to:
Measure the distance walked
Listening activities
Photography
Today, I will focus on the photographic opportunities.
As we all know the ubiquitous mobile phone has become an indispensable tool in modern life, sometimes too much so. People seem to be slaves to them. One of its most usable features for me is its camera.
I have an iPhone 8 Plus which is probably getting ‘long in the tooth’ now, technology-wise and we will probably update them in the coming twelve months. There are better camera phones out there for sure but this one is doing ok at present.
The camera I would really like to be taking on my walks is one I haven’t bought yet as I have had other priorities. More on that in a later blog.
For the time being I will make do with the phone camera.
Taking up photography in the early 1980’s increased my awareness of what is around me in terms of beauty and design. Taking up sketching, drawing and painting I believe has increased my awareness even more.
Below are a few examples of the things that attract my eye as I go walking. When I go walking, I seldom see other people taking photos on their walks. I wonder if they are aware of the the beauty and design that surrounds them?
Walking is something I love to do, however, unfortunately, it is something that has only happened intermittently of late due to all sorts of reasons and maybe a couple of excuses.
What better time to restart the activity than the time between Christmas and New Year.
Unlike last year here in Sydney Australia (when bushfires and thick smoke continued for months and 40C/104F+ temperatures), this Christmas has seen downpour after downpour and (so far) cooler temperatures 23C/73F – 33C/91F for Summer.
This morning I walked approx. 3km/0.62miles just ‘as a starter’ as it has been nearly 2 months since the last one. With cloudy skies and recent rain it was ‘cloudy bright’ overhead which delivered nice, even lighting.
On my travels today, I found some interesting tree bark patterns and thought I would share them. Mother Nature certainly provides us with a range of designs and colours. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Now it is more important than ever in this current world climate where we can only go out for ‘essential’ reasons and fortunately, one of those reasons is exercise.
There is no better time (if you are able) to start a walking programme as it will not only help your physical fitness, it will help you mental health as well, I believe. Staying cooped up in a house all week can be challenging, whether you are an Introvert, Extrovert or if you are like me, an Ambivert. I started off life as an Introvert.
Even before the COVID-19 crises, I loved to walk. I find it relaxing, fun and great way to clear my mind. I get many ideas on my walks for paintings, photos, articles for my blog, poems and even business ideas. It is also great for physical fitness.
I usually start off listening to a podcast e.g. usually something to do with creativity and once that finishes, some music or if I am walking in natural surroundings I will just listen to the sounds of Nature.
On Easter Saturday, I set off for one of my walks at about 6.30am and finished up walking 5km (3.1miles). The Sun was not yet up but light had started emanating from the horizon. It’s a beautiful time to begin a walk.
I love sighting ‘not so hidden gems’ on my walks. These ‘not so hidden gems’ are often in plain sight, we are just not always aware they are there. I credit my awareness with taking up Photography in 1982 and Painting in the last few years. Both disciplines force you to look at the detail and help you become more aware of your surroundings, in particular the way light interacts with things.
Below is a selection of ‘not so hidden gems’ that I discovered on my walk yesterday.
Like a lot of people at the start of the year, I did a Vision Board and set some goals etc.
One area I addressed was health. I set walking, meditation, exercise and fluid goals which were going tremendously well until the 18 February…
Whilst I was doing them I felt I had more energy and was keeping on top of things.
The goals were to:
Walk 3 times a week
Walk a minimum 15km’s (9.3 miles) per week
Meditate every day for a minimum of 10 minutes
Exercise 3 times a day (I have 10 stretching exercises a Physio recommended)
Drink 1.5 – 2 litres (3.7 – 4.2 US pints) a day
With my Wife, Susan, we operate a Strategic Marketing business, I am in a BNI (Business Network International) breakfast networking group, holding two committee positions; Vice-President Public Relations for Camden Toastmasters and am a co-Mentor for Gledswood Toastmasters, a proposed new club.
Apart from that, we have our time together plus all of my creative interests.
Looking back, I can see the reason that the goals went pear-shaped over the last month!
It has been such a busy month on all fronts that the business meant quite a few late nights; it is contest season in Toastmasters and I was involved in contests at Club level and Area level. These led to late nights, and a lesser quality of sleep that definitely impacts the next day (especially when you have some early starts) and so on…
I restarted the activity today and feel much better for it! I believe the last month would have been a lot less draining if I had made the time and stuck to the goals I had set myself. I also need to look at perhaps reducing my involvement on committees from 4 positions to two.
Hopefully, I can learn from this ‘latest life lesson’ and that I won’t have to be taught it again. 🙂
Communicating Creatively 