So, my equinox bivvy, well that was quite a laugh in the end!!
I left home late at about ten, it was always going to be just a little local one down the road. As the clouds were low, I had changed my mind from the initial plan of the higher, private/ do not enter wooded slopes, to my usual riverside spot, hoping to stay underneath the clouds...
It all started to go a bit weird right from the start - I met our neighbour on my way out, who asked me where on earth I was heading this time of the night.... awkward! I mumbled something fairly non committal I hope....
Short hop down to the end of the tarmac lane, and then I would be off road for the rest of the way. I stopped to send a little message to Reg to say I was out to play, and as I did so, I heard strange noises coming from the direction of my chosen field....bit like late summer combine harvesters working late into the night, except it's September and it was drizzling... did not fill me full of confidence...This was shortly followed by a landrover passing me, saying a cheery Hi to be fair, and heading down "my" track. This track goes literally nowhere in particular, other than to the field I was planning to sleep in.... didn't fancy that any more.
I wasn't well equipped for any sort of plan B, as I had just my head torch, no proper bike lights, so couldn't go on any roads. Only option was to go to the other field by the river, which is practically in town, on prime dog walking/ teenage partying territory, but I did remember a spot with some overhanging trees where I had seen a tent at some stage during the summer...
When I got there, I found that there were a fair few tall nettles under said tree, but it was now starting to rain properly, so there was no option really but to hang my tent up in the tree, shove my stuff underneath, then climb in and rip up nettles from inside
. Probably deserves a place in my top three worst pitches ever.... sleeping on a slope in a patch of nettles, in the rain right next to a river, on the flood plain....
As for the equinox celebrations, no time to make an altar or anything, but I had come equipped: An apple and cider to feast on. Nuts to also feast on, which I had decided were eminently more practical to transport encased in chocolate
. A boiled egg to try and balance, which didn't work so well as I had squished it during transport.... To be honest, the Mayan snake and the visit to ancestors had completely slipped my mind, but I did catch the occasional whiff of something that smelled like it had died not so long ago... does that count??
The fattened goose likewise was a bit of a challenge, so I had to make do with a flamingo - close enough right?
It had a handy sort of compartment in the belly for putting snacks in, for extra challenge and mental stimulation I think, which was right up my street, so I made good use of that for my chocolate.
There were also lots of ducks quacking nearby all night, which was sort of goose like - ish.
I was well underway with getting squiffy on my strong cider, when I knocked it over and spilled at least half the bottle
, leaving a pleasant apple flavour with me all night...
I was going to be good and leave some chocolate for the morning or 3 am snack, but then heard a suspicious noise outside I thought, which made me think of rats, near river and all that, and immediately had the mental image of rat not just eating my chocolate, but then proceeding to gnaw at my face as I slept, so I thought I'd play it safe and ate everything I had....
IMG_20220922_225310 by
Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
On a more serious note, I had as suggested on the website spent some time during the day pondered on the whole theme of "darkness" and light, and the balance between them, and also made a mental list of things that I am grateful for. That was a nice thing to do I thought.
By the morning, it had all dried up, I had dozed for the last couple of hours before it got light with the tent door open, and when I got out and had a look at it all, it actually looked like quite a nice little spot. One dog walker passed, no bother at all.
IMG_20220923_075139 by
Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
Sat by the river for a coffee, and it was really really lovely, in the soft autumny warm morning sunshine and a little bit of mist, then headed home for breakfast.
IMG_20220923_075229 by
Verena Zimmer, on Flickr
.
