I saw a kingfisher.

Crikey, what a run I have been on today. To start off with I was late leaving, and so was worried that it would be dark before I finished and I would be stuck running along narrow country lanes with farmers and boy racers speeding past. I didn't want to have to dodge their Land Rovers and souped up Peugeots without so much as a florescent green headband to illuminate me.

Then after that I had run only 2 miles when I found myself facing an impassable section of road. We have had bucket loads of rainfall around these parts of late, leading to floods all over the shop and road closures aplenty. I kind of expected something like this would happen, but took a leap into the unknown- that's the sort of adventurous guy I am! However, I am not so adventurous that I would get my feet wet unnecessarily, so I turned around and chose an alternate route- adding an extra mile to my run. There was loads of surface water everywhere, meaning I had to weave around enormous puddles in the road whilst watching out for oncoming vehicles- extreme running or what, heh?

Anyway, after 8 miles I turned off the main road and headed down a side track which takes you by a small river. Vehicles don't use the track very often, so it is always quiet. I was jogging along slowly, enjoying the scenery of the levels with the Tor in the distance, when all of a sudden a shimmering flash of blue was gliding along just above the water to my right. Yes folks, it was a kingfisher! I don't know why, but every time I see a kingfisher, which is not very often, my heart is lifted. I watched it for only about 10 seconds before it disappeared, but that was enough to make my day. After that I started noticing all the other birds flying around- I saw a kestrel hovering above me, and a flock of geese heading westwards to the sea. And then, as the dusk was arriving, along came the starlings. In winter time enormous numbers of starlings gather to roost here on the levels, and as I was jogging down the track the sky above me darkened. Murmuration after murmuration flew over my head and I could see their reflections in the puddles at my feet and in the flooded fields surrounding me. This all happened at mile 11, and by this stage I was running in some sort of trance, so the whole thing was quite something.

To complement all this visual stimulation, todays' standout track on the mp3 player was the good old J&MC. Rest assured, this tune will keep you running like there's no tomorrow. By the way, I got home before dark. Signing out.