Embraced by the Big Wide World

Hmm, let me think... When was the last time that I wrote for my English blog?.. Oh, yes! When I went out into the Big Wide World! Exactly a year and a half ago.

I have to admit it was scary, but the World was so open, so friendly and so full of opportunities, that I'm glad I had enough courage to take that first step into the Unknown.

For bravery I've been rewarded with two trips (so far!) to the Outer Hebrides, Scotland; a lengthy stay in Northumberland (Whitburn, Tyne and Wear); a break in South Downs where one day I surpassed myself and did 30 km (18 mi); then briefly back into the woods of North East Lithuania before we had ever heard of the word 'pandemic'; the northern edge of the Lake District (Uldale); Wensleydale in Yorkshire Dales (Askrigg), now Lindisfarne (Northumberland again); North Pennines in September; Torridon, Scotland - end of October... Also a glimpse of the civilized world: London, Newcastle, Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra... Can you wish for more!

And to think that barely a year and a half ago I was on my little farm, amidst the woods and fields in North East Lithuania, gaping wide-eyed at the popular landscape photographers on youtube as they drove across the British Isles to the wondrous places of my dreams. I'm no longer envious of them. Not any more.

From now on I myself hike, wide-eyed, the hills of Yorkshire Dales and climb the mountains of the Lake District; hop from island to island in the Outer Hebrides... 'No big deal', some might say, but it is a big deal for me, having escaped the zone of relative comfort at a mature age.

One more note, which, I think, is important: I don't own a car, I don't even have a driving licence. In short, I don't drive and I'm proud of my 'car-less' lifestyle. How can I do landscape and wildlife photography?

I rent a holiday cottage during my breaks which serves as my base for two weeks or so, and I walk and walk and walk in quiet solitude, nearly every day, exploring every path and valley and hilltop, bracing all the elements that I love so much. And I say, miracles do happen!

...And as I walk, I listen; then stop and listen again - nothing and nobody hurries me except my own impatient thoughts. I bide my time as I know that I am where I'm meant to be...