After the Storm, Clear As Mud

Posted on by Laura & Brett
Looking out over the village green to rolling hills and blue skies – breathtaking!

After a rainy Friday, and an even wetter and windier Saturday (which blew almost all the beautiful red leaves off the vine at our cottage), we woke up on Sunday to blue skies and warmer temperatures. Yeah! After getting caught up with a few chores, Brett and I headed out for a walk through Blockley to see what fall colors we could find. We started off through the village and then turned down the road in the direction of the nearby village of Draycot, and eventually onto a footpath we hadn’t taken before (and probably shouldn’t have this time).

The big trees on the village green are showing their fall colors.
Vibrant red berries now adorn this bush – it had flowers when we arrived in Blockley.
After Saturday’s storm, sidewalks all through the village were covered with colored leaves.
As we walked toward Draycot we passed an entrance to the village’s old silk mill which now contains apartments and condos.
Part of the fence around the old silk mill is constructed of recently cut and woven branches.
We could hear Blockley Brook long before we saw it. Because of all the recent rain, it was running strong. The brook stayed hidden for most of our walk, but we always could hear that it was near.
Just after crossing over the brook we spotted this stile and the sign indicating a footpath and decided to see where it took us.
The path looked inviting, damp but covered with leaves and with solid footing.
After a while, we began to encounter mud. The path was narrow enough that we were able to straddle it as we moved along to keep our feet somewhat dry.
We passed beautiful lawns . . .
. . . and lush, green pastures which helped distract us from the ever-increasing amount of mud on the path.
And then we went around a bend and encountered this! It was too wide to straddle and too deep to even think of walking through it so we admitted defeat and turned around.
About half-way back to the stile, we spotted this branch off of the path. The footing looked a bit more solid than what we’d be on so we crossed our fingers and decided to head this way, again having no idea where it would take us.
Fall was in all its glory along the way though.
And, a short time later, and without encountering any more mud, the path came out onto a street on the village outskirts. We’d walked to this spot once before and knew our way back to the cottage from here.
Needless to say my shoes and pants were a mess (Brett was in much better shape, thankfully).
But, after a good rinse, a trip through the washing machine, and some time in front of the fire my shoes were squeaky clean and good as new!

We now have a very good understanding of why a pair of Wellington boots are a must for life in the country. Still, it was a glorious day and we got some good exercise, found some great fall color, and had some fun, mud or no mud!

Advertisement

Published by Laura & Brett

Slow traveling the world with a sense of adventure!

14 thoughts on “After the Storm, Clear As Mud”

  1. What gorgeous colours! And the blue sky makes all the difference. Yes, wellies are a must. In Germany there were lots of rubber/plastic ankle boots (like fashionable boots, not wellies) for sale. I was tempted. Except we have little rain at home so no real need.

    Like

    1. The blue sky was so wonderful . . . and we haven’t seen it since. As much as I love it here I couldn’t live here for that reason. I can feel my seasonal affective disorder returning.

      Wellingtons are the one thing that was not supplied by the cottage where we’re staying!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Fall was definitely showing all of its glory during your walk. Love the blue crisp skies and vibrant colors on the trees! Hopefully you’ll be able to take that path again when it is less muddy.

    I’ve very intrigued about the new mystery destination!

    Like

    1. It was beautiful on Sunday, but lots of fall leaves had been blown down by Saturday’s storm (like 90% of the beautiful red leaves on our cottage). I’d love to walk that path again. If we can go through a week without rain I think we’ll try it.

      Maybe I should do a giveaway and award the prize to the person who guesses the destination!

      Like

    1. I feel the same about Wellingtons – they look so nice and “country” but I’ve never had a need for them, and they’re not something I want to carry around in my suitcase! But boy oh boy did I wish I had a pair of them the other day!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Another batch of gorgeous pictures! As always, one lives and learn why the locals do things in a particular way. Your shoes are some to write home about.

    Like

    1. We met a villager coming out of that path the day we were walking down there; he was bring his two dogs out of the woods. And now we know where he was walking! We’re hoping for a dry spell so we can walk the entire path and see where it goes.

      I’m glad my shoes survived – you’d never know they’d been in mud if you saw them now.

      Like

  5. Wait, you can run your walking shoes through the washer?! Remind us,what kind are they again?

    Like

    1. The brand is Altra Olympus. They’re actually running shoes made to be worn off road. The version available now is the 3.5.

      Like

  6. Beautiful fall colors! And quite the mud. I can see why you wanted Wellies. I’m impressed that those shoes can go through the washer and come out looking like that. Wow.

    Like

    1. The mud sort of snuck up on us – started slow but when we turned that corner, oh my! We really wanted to keep going too, but there was no way without Wellies.

      Brett hosed most of the mud off my shoes when we got back, and then into the washer. I was surprised how clean they came out – they really do look like new (and the soles actually squeaked on the floor!).

      Like

Comments are closed.