online:18 june 2011 modified: 11, 18 june 2011 3 june 2011 after a climb
Hampstead Heath Extension
...after walking beside the seven ponds... and up a steep slope that raised my pulse to 100 per minute... contending with determined mosquitos or other insects that look like stingers but as yet i don't feel them biting...
...the sun and trees have now moved until weakened sunlight shines through them directly into my eyes (it doesn't dazzle if i keep my attention on the touch screen)... this fraction of sunlight (like others all around) moves when the wind shakes the trees... the effect is of a cathedral interior with flexible walls and windows... and with a greenness of indirect light and a yellow whiteness of direct light... while the air in the trees moves in audible gusts and surges... far and near
...the air is cool here in the forest... though outside it clear sky has allowed the allowed the sunshine to heat up the air at ground level to about 24 (degrees Celsius) which has led young people (if not old ones) to discard winter clothing...
...as i walked towards the highest point (overlooking the Vale of Health) i came across a rabbit grazing... it seemed not to have seen or heard me so i froze to see how long it would continue eating before running away... i watched for perhaps a minute as it relaxed its ears and body and continued to nibble grass... and only occasionally did it raise an ear or look sideways to where i stood hidden in the edge of the forest... eventually i moved slightly and the rabbit hopped away slowly as i walked to this seat from which the tall buildings of East London shine under blue sky reflecting the yellow light of the sunset...
...this view (so familiar to me in its many guises) is tonight like a new city that exists only in dreams... man-made perfection in the wide spread of the city as a whole... complementing and contrasting with the verticals of the hundreds of tall buildings that are its most visible substance and ideal... (or its boast)...
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