#30DaysWild For 2021

 

Another June has come and gone, another 30 Days packed with wild adventures. This year has certainly been tamer than last year, as more of my time is taken up with work and commitments. 2020 was a weird year and really should not be used as a something to measure against. Still, it has been fun seeing on my Facebook memories all of the mad stuff I got up to last year. The Fairy Day, the I Heart Shropshire lens, the Quiz - all great fun and things I would happily do again, given the proper time.

This year, a lot more of my time and spoons is spent on work and that's ok. So while my 30 Days Wild activities are mostly luchtime walkies with the dog, I do at least have the opportunity to get outside pretty much every day.

But here are some of my highlights from #30DaysWild 2021.

Thanks to our rural setting aand the glorious weather, we went down to the river quite often. Our current foster pup loves to splash and play in the water. He is the first one since Tara who proper loves to go into the water. He is a high energy boyo and will play fetch for hours. Playing in the river certainly helped to keep him cool. And me! I was in the water too, on ball duty for when the dog couldn't quite spot it before it floated away. He has all the enthusiasm, just not the finding skills.

One time we went down, he had the chance to play with another excitable pup while we sat talking to their humans. Good times are always to be had at the river.

 

On June 10th, we had an amazing wild event: the solar eclipse. As a kid, I remember the '98 solar eclipse as being this big Thing. It was advertised for ages beforehand, there were glasses given out in cereal boxes, and there was all this build up. So to get a text from Carole saying, "Oi, look outside at the eclipse!" was something of a surprise.

I just  about managed to see it, between the cloud cover and a weirdly angled pair of sunglasses. My coworker managed to get the above snap while trying to get a time lapse.

 

With a lot of our lunchtime walks, I added a little bit of variety to them. Instead of just walking, I would look out for wild things beginning with the letters of my name or name some wild flowers. It made me realise just how basic my knowledge of British flora is - but I had a go and that is the important bit. You would think my obsession with farming sims would make me better at it, but none of those are real flowers! Still,  I cherish our lunchtime walks and definitely miss them on days when it is just not feasible.

 

Over the course of one weekend, I spent the majority of my time outside. A member of the extended family was due to get married but the date got pushed bakc because of Covid reasons. A BBQ had been planned for the following Saturday - so rather than miss out on both, the BBQ went ahead. It was lovely to chill outside in the sunshine and to be around folk I had not seen in a long time. I took the dog and he enjoyed playing with all the various people - and the BBQ food they snuck him.

The following day, I joined my family on the Cheswardine 5mile Fun Run. I did not run, because there is the option to walk. I have fallen out of love with running, but it's a lovely area and I really enjoy the event. Plus, it was a great opportunity to walk the dog. He is a strong doggo and I really struggle to walk him on my own, when the fella is off and about doing mad events or volunteering. Thankfully, I walked with the brother-in-law who was happy to hold the lead while the dog was super excited. I had him for most of the walk, when he spent less time diving under every hedge and more time walking forwards!

The weather was perfect for it, too. It was warm but a little overcast so not blisteringly hot. Tidy bonus that I did not have to worry about burning, too. Nor the dog overheating. I had been so prepared when I dropped him off my mum's in the morning. I neeed someone to look after him while I went to yoga - so I had the food, the collapsible bowl, the poop bags. Buuuuttt, the bowl got left behind and I had to try and cup my hand for him to drink from! He didn't seem to mind, he's a happy boyo and looks very fetching in his Fun Run medal. (I'm not supposed to share photos of the foster dogs online, so if you see me do ask to see the photos we took of him wearing it. Absolutely glorious!)

Now this last one was not exactly "wild" in the strictest of terms. But taking into the consideration that I have not done this in nearly two years, this is its own brand of wild. I got my first Covid jab and treated myself to a me-date at a cafe. Coffee, cake, and a lemonade whilst I read my book. It was lovely. And totally wild to think about low long it had been since I last did that.

All Done for Another Year

I have enjoyed another year being conscious about my living wild. Sure, a lot of it was going on the same lunchtime walk and playing farming simulators - but I enjoyed it all. Maybe one of these years, I'll get round to planing a big proper wild weekend away!

What did you get up this #30DaysWild this year? What do you hope to do next year? Lemme know, below!

Cheeky bonus!

The day before #30DaysWild started, I was strimming the garden and a wild frog appeared!