hello !! thank you for checking this out, please give it your best attempt at a full read before deciding you never want me to blog again x
i visited a nature reserve at the weekend, called eridge rocks. it’s quite a big area and i didn’t get to explore as much as i would’ve liked to however what i did see was really cool.
the area consists of these humongous sandstone rocks – some forming cave-like overhangs and others creating small cliffs. the wildlife is really interesting too; rare mosses, ferns, big deer and giant rabbit holes.
there’s been loads of evidence found there of mesolithic era humans using the spot whilst they hunted and gathered.
i really enjoy history and learning anything to do with archaeology. i wonder if the church located right by it has any historical significance there. there’s this archived show i like watching on youtube called Time Team, they do excavations around the UK and have to attribute an explanation to a site within three days, it’s very pleasant, inoffensive watching.
i’ve watched hundreds of episodes and a common theme i’ve noticed is, whenever there’s an area of large stones that stand out from the surrounding landscape, there’s usually a church or some kind of important architectural landmark there; bronze-age humans were using it for their paganistic worship, medieval people for their protestant worship, all the way to now where it’s some random little villages local church. or so i’m guessing. i’m going to look that up now
well that was disappointing. the church is only like 200 years old. i think 134,999,800 years is too big a gap in time to consider them linked.
i went to the top of the stones by the entrance….is there a difference between rocks and stones? one moment
there IS. a rock is the entire big thing from the earth, and a stone is a part of/from it. all stones are rocks but not all rocks are stones, i think. like how all toads are frogs but not all frogs are toads, or something like that? what am i talking about
okay, i went to the top of the rocks by the entrance around sunset, and sat on them to smoke. their entire tops were littered in people’s engravings; hearted-initials, small phrases and the odd bit of racism. etched into this object of permanence for the rest of time, or until the rain erodes them, but i’m sure they’ll be renewed.
the view was pretty, i can’t wait to go back. it was probably just the weed but there was something somewhat profound about the rocks. they’ve been there for so, so long. and any person that’s visited has almost definitely thought to themselves: “damn, those are some big rocks”, and they always will.
it’s barely changed in such a vast amount of time, unlike the surrounding areas which change drastically with each decade, because people are so fickle. and nature is unbelievably sure of itself. it’s never trying to strive or be something it cannot be, it can only know what it does, and do what it knows and people admire it for that. rarely do we give ourselves the same leniency.
umbrella pine
moss, polytrichum formosum, probably
the road leading up to the reserve
i think i’m going to paint this photo, i love the colours so much
i need to finish painting my grandparents dogs in time for christmas, so it’s probably best i don’t start another. this is the reference i’m using
robbie and jet. robbie is the small white one and jet is the big bear. jet passed about a year ago, he lived a very very long life and never caused any trouble. he was my great grandmas, amy, and she passed a few years back. my grandad took jet in and he lived the rest of his life as happy as he could be 🙂
i remember being like 6 or 7 (hhhhhh) and going on walks in the countryside with him. he would always hunt for and bring back the biggest possible sticks to add to a huge pile outside amy’s front door.
i’ll show you the painting once it’s finished, along with some others i’ve done.
thank you for reading! sorry for the abrupt end, i have no idea what i’m doing. i might delete this or i might update it before next week so it might be worth checking it every now and then, but no promises.
i think my next post will be about going to see radiohead.
hope you made it this far, thanks again 💛
update:
a pebble is a small stone that’s rounded so, every pebble is a stone but not every stone is a pebble and every stone is a rock but not every rock is a stone and pebbles and rocks are like cousins or something
cant wait to see your painting. you have an eye for detail that will make it perfect x
its really cool seeing ur interest in nature
wonderful! Hope you’re having a good holiday 💖
I must say this was a good read! I enjoyed the entire thing and seeing you as more than just poetry and as actual living being is a good change of pace , I look forward to reading the next blog if you do another