A Simple Walk, Early In The Morning Is One Of Life's Secrets To Happiness.

A healthy dose of nature.

I had forgotten the sheer joy of setting off for my morning walk at an early hour. An adventure often only accompanied by cheeky birds chirping all the way. Oh and the odd hare, buck and spider.

Just after six in the morning ( and let's face it, it is hardly the crack of dawn ) the air is crisp and still a bit unpolluted. Most people are only starting on their second cup of coffee to lure them out of a state of sleepiness.

Halfway into my walk, I caught a hint of soap in the air. Even though we have been nudged by advertisers into needing more and more exotic smells in our shampoos, creams, shower-gels in order to feel clean, important & special, a mere whiff of a cheap bar of Lux or Palmolive soap transported me back to my youth.

My golly gosh, back then if we even mentioned that we'd wanted a fancy bar of soap, we were quickly shown the error of our ways...But you know what, the smell of a simple soap evoked an immense sense of contentment in me. Almost on a par with a Jasmine shrub announcing its presence or a rose bush sweetening the air around it.

A troupe of bees getting their morning buzz were never far away and the birds were having a field day. A literal field day, as they were hopping gaily among the grooves of the pastures. Perhaps they were picking worms or snails out of the fields or they felt happy to be alive. Often they would wait until the last meter before they would fly up in the air and hover until I walked on. Screeching all the way of course.

It feels like summer although officially we are still bumbling along in spring. The variety of grass along the forest edge and pathways has a distinct aroma of its own. There is nothing like the smell of green grass to transport you back to your childhood. Who didn't run and roll around on the grassy pastures? Games of hide and seek or tag were the order of the day back when we were under 10...

The best thing about walking so early in the morning is really that sense of achievement you get, knowing that before 7am your work out for the day is done and dusted and your breakfast well earned.

Biggi

The nicest fact about are village is that one is never far from a vineyard...

If only you could smell the green grass of Eisenberg...