Starting with the short loop

I had a much grander idea for the first entry here. A whole day out, perhaps, with an early start and a flask that did not leak. In the end I went round the short loop behind the lower meadow. It took forty minutes, including a fairly long argument with a gate.

There is a small stand of birches about halfway round. In summer I tend to hurry past them, because the shade makes everything look flatter than I remember. With the leaves still off, though, there was a surprising amount of space between the trunks. You could see the shape of the hill through the wood. That is probably obvious, but I had never properly looked.

I made three pictures from almost the same spot. The first had too much foreground, the second had a branch crossing the pale trunk, and the third was much the same as the first. I like that one best. So much for a method.

The place names in this notebook are mostly names I have given things myself. Birch Nook is not on a sign. Neither is the lower meadow, as far as I know; it is simply lower than the other one. This may become confusing later. I will try to be consistent.

For now the intention is to keep a few pictures, write down something about the walk, and do it again when I can. No particular distance to cover. I have left the notebook in my coat pocket, where it has already collected a small amount of grit.