Outdoors – Page 2

Jumping off

April 29, 2021

Sending new words out into the world can feel like jumping off a cliff. You don’t know how it’s going to land, or if people will connect. There’s that lurch in the stomach as your feet recognise thin air, the last-second terror that maybe you should just forget all about it and go hide in bed. And yet we do it don’t we? We scramble up, stride forward; step off. Over and over: crafting the narrative, reshaping the vision, reconfiguring…

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On fiction, dystopia and connection to the poetic soul

April 27, 2021

I’ve avoided using the word ‘dystopia’ when talking about the new book because I don’t believe it’s a dystopian novel. It is darkly realist at times and I don’t shy away from shining a bright light of truth on characters and events so that the shadows are revealed.But in addition to this, there’s many beautiful moments of connection, with the land, with other people, and with technology. You just have to be prepared to look. It’s also the first book…

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The unnameable essence of being

April 15, 2021

I am so in love with my body right now I want to swim in every glorious moment, feel it visceral and wild against skin. Yesterday I blasted uphill fireroads on the bike, lungs sucking in mouthfuls of spring, forest air. Then long swooping singletrack descents had me stood on pedals until the fronts of thighs burned like crazy, eyes focussed on the trail ahead. Slowly I’m remembering how to ride, the movement of body with bike, muscle memory calling…

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Wisdoms from the river and the trees

April 5, 2021

Yesterday we hiked to the source of the Severn River. We stood at the small swampy bog that is the origins of this vast and tumbling body of water that becomes so large the Severn Bridge was constructed so that we might cross. A reminder that the humblest beginnings can grow into the most unexpected forces of nature. Later I spoke with the trees there, who do not think of humans as friends, and I apologised for the mess we’ve…

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Bridging the gap

March 21, 2021

Yesterday I felt the spring equinox in my body. This doesn’t always happen, but more so as these days in the van roll through me. I’m trying to shape without shaping, push-then-release, open my heart to my Self.I’ve spent this past time telling my body that I love her, that she is special to me, that I’m sorry for all the times I treated her like an emotional dumping ground.Yesterday that disconnect ended – there was no ‘me’ talking to…

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Rehab Your Rescue

February 27, 2021

It’s been such a journey with Bonnie the beautiful rescue hound. She’s been with us five years now and she’s the sweetest, most loving hound. When you adopt a rescue hound one of the first things you realise is how easy it is for someone to cause trauma through neglect, and then how difficult it is to unpick those ‘survival behaviours’.Bonnie used to have terrible separation anxiety – she trashed the house when we left her for 10mins, she also…

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snow reels

January 30, 2021

I’ve been really enjoying the Reels function on Instagram recently. Here’s a couple of short clips made of snow-fun-times, soundtracked by Kate Bush’s 50 Words for Snow as I have that on loop every winter until spring. You can find more on my Instagram Reels. View this post on Instagram A post shared by OUTSIDER [Sophie McKeand] (@sophiemckeand_outsider) View this post on Instagram A post shared by OUTSIDER [Sophie McKeand] (@sophiemckeand_outsider) View this post on Instagram A post shared by…

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It is a filthy day

January 26, 2021

Hiked about 7-8k in the sludge. It is a filthy day. All the melting snow leaking out across the muddy landscape.We have a specific system for getting the hounds back into the van after a muddy walk: first, hose down feet and bellies outside using a small hand-pump garden pressure wash that also doubles as our outdoor shower in warmer weather; second, a two towel system in the van to get them as dry as possible, one for feet, one…

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Getting the laces right

January 16, 2021

Walking has kept me sane this lockdown. To be honest there’s been plenty of days I didn’t feel like leaving the van but two large hounds in a small space are great therapy because you’re going outdoors whether you like it or not.We’ve been averaging 5k a day in the week and 10k at weekends so I feel a certain low-level fitness is being maintained and even today I’m starting to notice a deeper, underlying energy return, which feels so…

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