What’s an urban winter really like? Pretty bleak on the outset with more shades of grey than a B&M fan's interior goals - but don't be fooled, you can still find life and colour within our streets! Exploring city spaces has never been more popular, as the terrors of a global pandemic still grip our world, human beings are appreciating the outdoors more than ever.
(Source: Wild City Portsmouth, December 2020)
We have always been pretty outdoorsy as a family, but since lockdown 1.0 nearly a year ago now, we have spent more time than ever exploring, wandering and absorbing the nature around us. We moved from rural West Sussex back to Portsmouth in November 2020 after a long hot summer trying to grow some very small but extremely loved vegetables and pretending that we were stars in our very own show featuring Alan Titchmarsh. As winter swept in and we got used to our little concrete triangle courtyard in Portsmouth - we thought about how we could connect with nature in our new surroundings.
Here is an interesting blog article from Winterwatch which highlights those winter nature benefits and gives us all something to look out for:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/entries/6895fa10-dddf-4749-a
(Source: Wild City Portsmouth)
Luckily for those readers in Portsmouth we are surrounded by nature and the outdoors but I am sure wherever you are it won't take you long to find a little patch of wild! Whether you're looking into what seems an endless expanse of ocean, (even if the isle of wight is just a stone's throw..) or lost in a forest walk surrounded by the sound of birds or the distant hum of the M275. Make sure you check out that article, because what's up or down or out a night might surprise you and help you to notice the life that comes to life in the cold.
(Source: Wild City Portsmouth)
It wasn't until lockdown that I saw my first red kite soaring across the sky looking for prey, dancing with a rather puny looking but ballsy pigeon as they swirled in the winter sun. Or driving home at night watching families of foxes navigate the lamppost lit streets in hope of a meal. Nature is truly all around us, and when we open our eyes we might just see something out of the ordinary, something too quick for a camera flash.
We are lucky Portsmouth is surrounded by beauty and inhabited by creative people ready to capture all those rare moments. So every now and then I implore you, take a moment, enjoy the silence. Look between the lanes in our day to day rat race and you’ll really see a prize that's worth winning.
Spring is now beginning to show so please keep an eye out for our future blog posts and if you have anything interesting that you want to share let us know!
Jordan