A recurring mistake

Every morning this week, I've eaten breakfast in this spot. Looking north up the Conwy valley, the steep sides of the Gwydr Forest loom through the morning mist, swallows swoop and dive though the trees, flying inches from the eaves of the building and the walls of the grounds. The sheep amble from their pens out onto the pastures, a gentle blanket of bleating a setting the soundtrack of the day.

A rather hectic morning - a 'changeover' where one group comes and another goes, so everything needs to be cleaned and tidied before the new group arrives. I had duty in the evening, so after lunch I headed out of the centre and home. The day was hot, and close - and I decided to go out for a jog.

A recurring mistake that I make when I go jogging is to take my headphones. Initially, it strikes me as a brilliant idea - get my legs going, provide a vital boost to make sure that I can be bothered. But as soon as I take my earphones out, be it to cross a road or to hear if a car is coming down the lane, I am struck by the beauty of the sounds that are happening outside my ear-buds. A different world of sounds - soft, and with so many layers of intricacy that no matter what I'm listening to on my headphones the outside world becomes the inevitable choice. So once again, I'm stuck with my headphone bouncing around my neck or making my palm sweat.

I headed the long way to the hill above my house, as to avoid the painfully steep path that leads there more directly. I hadn't had a job in a while - and it showed. Big time. I felt like what I imagine those joggers to look like when they're going at walking pace, wheezing along with people overtaking them looking concerned for the state of their coronary system. I had to stop at the top, and my jog quickly dissolved in to a walk in red shorts and a sleeveless shirt. I went past a garden with a young squirrel in it, and managed to get within reaching distance. They're much cuter up close.

The view from the top was beautiful - the hare's tail cotton grass was out in full, a field of brushes swaying in the gentle breeze, while the clouds glided over the peaks of the distant mountains.

I'm lucky to live here. But looking forward to going back to Bath in 2 days!