Enjoying and appreciating the little things / Slowing Down

Let me keep your expectations down beforehand - nothing overly exciting happens in this story. If you want to skip the text and just scroll through the pictures quickly - no hard feelings. Although this is partly what my article is about: slowing down, escaping stress and your daily routine.

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I live in a small, peaceful town in Upper Austria.
One sunny autumn day in November of 2013, I went for a walk.

That wasn't something I usually did, I was more of a runner. Sure, one can also enjoy nature and fresh air during a run, but in a different way. Without going to deep into it, that would be part of another story: I loved the feeling of adrenaline rushing through my body, listening to body signals to see how far I could push myself. Being able to pace myself to reach a certain time per kilometre, the exhaustion afterwards and the prospect of achieving an even faster pace next time. Just feeling alive.

To sound a little philosophical, I would say running is more selfish than walking. Probably caused by the mere speed difference and the diverging nature of the two disciplines. You focus on yourself mostly, just bypassing the world around you during a run. When taking a walk, on the other hand, you can take your time. The distraction from physical exhaustion is negligible and you can solely focus on your surroundings. When something catches your attention, you can walk up to it, inspect it closely and observe its beauty in full detail.

So I felt good and relaxed that day, with no need to achieve a specific goal and all the freedom in the world. I just grabbed my camera (no SLR, just a 12.1 MP Casio Exilim) and went outside.
It was late in the afternoon and the sun was slowly continuing to set.

I started on one of my usual running tracks, seeing it in another light this time. Not following it blindly, but exploring and taking detours whenever I felt like it.
Kind of like breaking a habit.
Now no more pseudo-wise thoughts, here are the pictures I took that day :-)

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focus on dandelion, in front of a cloverfield, our pond and willow trees

wasps' nest under our shed's roof

oilseed rape field, power supply lines, blue sky

hoverfly on rapeseed

bee on thistle

beautiful autumn wood. getting closer...

...one can find this small creek. very rewarding

happy Austrian cows on a meadow, mountains in the background

lonesome tree, autumn leaves, beautiful colors

cross spider in her web

red dragonfly on pond liner plastic

reflections in the pond

grassland, sun, sky, clouds, mountains, woods...perfect scenery and a worthy ending of this photoseries

I am no photographer, use neither fancy equipment nor any kind of filters or photoshopping.