I must be raven mad

Desperately trying to get this last Blogtober post up so some of you have a chance to read it while it is, in fact, still October. I have thoroughly enjoyed this challenge, and enjoyed finding some new blogs, such as Richard Axtell whose posts have been both wonderfully entertaining and thought-provoking. Herewith my final post for Blogtober.

I took my dog on his usual walk this evening, and heard the Ravens high up on the pylon where they have called home for the past two years.

There was nobody around, and it soon became quite dark as it’s a new moon so no help from her reflected light, and it was very cloudy. I got a bit scared when Ned clearly spotted something ahead of us, but it was beyond the reach of my head torch beam.

As we walked back into the wooded area, a large group of Rooks started calling and clattering about in the canopy, joined by the Wood Pigeons clapping their way through the branches. I don’t know if the dog and I had spooked them, or whether there was a raptor somewhere, but they certainly spooked me.

Further up the track, a shadow passed across the path and I heard the twang of wire as a deer hopped over the loose fence to our left. I confess my nerves were quite jangly at this point.

So I was quite relieved to see a torchlight up the track, even though not many people have red torches. I realised it wasn’t a torch at all, but a pair of eyes looking back at me, the red dots appearing and disappearing as the animal watched me then took off into the undergrowth. I presume it was a fox or maybe a cat.

I was starting to think I should perhaps put on a podcast or something so I had a reassuring voice in the fading light, and then I saw a flourescent green light with a bright light above – no, not an alien abduction – and there was a man with a torch, and his dog (who I recognised) decked out in a luminous collar. “Hello!” I said cheerily, and allowed my shoulders to subside a few inches to a more usual level.

By now I was on the home straight, and I let the post-adrenaline tingly feeling wash over me as the sounds of trick-or-treating families on the road to the village brought me back to normality.

Here is a rather hasty sketchbook painting of a Raven:

Thanks to everyone who has read my posts, and congratulations to everyone who has participated in this challenge. I do love blogging, and feel it’s a decent space where we can ramble on about things in our own way without the pressure of paywalls and monetising content and the constant push to be seen.

That said, the engagement is always a lovely consequence, so welcome to my new followers!