I was recently out and about on my morning walk and thoroughly enjoying the rhythm of it. It’s been very wet this year and my walking boots were covered in mud and wet inside, thankfully I had my waterproof socks on and my feet were fine. I was roughly half way around the circuit and I was starting to get that heading for home feeling as I left a country lane and headed onto a narrow path which runs alongside a brook. Just a few metres along a flash of blue down near the flowing water caught my eye. Instinctively I stopped still and turned slowly to look to where the flash had been. There, sat on a twig overhanging the brook was a kingfisher. It sat for a few seconds looked at me and darted off along the stream and into obscurity.
I was delighted.
That delight stayed with me for the rest of my walk and also as a slow fading feeling for the rest of that day.
On most of my morning walks I find something to delight in:
The drill of a woodpecker on a spring day.
The bronze glow of a beach tree in the autumn.
The taste of juicy brambles.
The look of disdain from a fox as is crosses the path and disappears into the undergrowth.
The roar of a stream in flood.
The smell of wild garlic and the beautiful white flowers.
The taste of plumbs ripened in a nearby field.
The mystery of a misty morning as trees turn into shadowy figures.
The excitement of seeing a deer effortlessly bounce down one side of a hollow and up the other.
The discovery of a new path that I’ve never used before and neither has anyone else from the look of the undergrowth.
The emergence of the buds in the oak trees and the promise of acorns.
The brilliance of a bank covered in bluebells hidden away from view.
The screech of buzzards circling overhead.
The crunch of fresh frozen snow.
The shock of startling a hare and seeing it speed across the fields.
The joy of the smaller birds as they scurry about their work.
The list goes on. I’m not upset if I don’t see anything new or unique there are plenty of marvelous things if I just have the eyes to see them. Seeing isn’t a passive thing, you have to train yourself to see, it requires attention, and walking gives that time for attention to build, but I think that might be a post for another day.
I’ve written about delight before – Count Your Blessings #143 – Delight – interestingly, also provoked by a walk and a song that I still love, who’s words I will leave you with:
Amid the rumours and the expectations
Don’t Forget About Delight: Bruce Cockburn
And all the stories dreamt and lived
Amid the clangour and the dislocation
And things to fear and to forgive
Don’t forget
About delight
Header Image: One of those wonderful misty mornings.
Graham Chastney 
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