{"id":54961,"date":"2026-01-10T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/?p=54961"},"modified":"2026-01-12T13:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T12:04:00","slug":"taking-umbrage-taking-air-taking-stock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/?p=54961","title":{"rendered":"Taking Umbrage, Taking Air, Taking Stock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Photo<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s because I\u2019m in a transition week (holiday bod to word hero) or because my neighbours were given the gift of noise over Christmas, I decide to head out into the shimmering cold and give my lobes an airing. The sky is blue \u2014 a first for the week \u2014 and all the monkeys brass. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On my way to river, I pass the Reaching Tree. For decades, it\u2019s striven southwards, poised to heft or catch something. Must be big, judging by the girthy limbs. A donkey, perhaps, or philosophical thought. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Across the path watches a painted eye, the curious city. Course, nature\u2019s having none of it \u2014 it\u2019s sliding a finger of ivy over the pupil. Concrete can\u2019t keep secrets, you see. Not like wood. Don\u2019t trust it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talking of trust, when I reach the river I see the local ufologists were right: flying saucers have been night fishing in the Elster. Dotted over the surface of snow and ice are perfect circles where the spacecraft hovered. They\u2019re small, mind, but we shouldn\u2019t compare inseams with every creature we encounter. These can, after all, cross galaxies. Little folk with big ambitions(*).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A young woman throws sticks onto the ice, making it chirp and chirrup like a bird. I heard this for the first time the other week whilst out with The Mathematician. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the kids by the pond,\u201d she\u2019d said. \u201cThey\u2019re making the noise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith toys?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToys, themselves. You know what kids are like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Panoramic<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But no, it was the stones they were throwing striking the ice. The rivers and ponds are winter water drums, instruments that mimic the birds in the trees above. It really is a magical sound and seems to delight all who hear it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I come across a column of crows walking the path to the flower garden. At the head are a father and daughter scattering seed. The air\u2019s filled with caws. One bird flies so close I hear its feathers sing. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I make my way north to the fairy gate: two trees on the hill to the music quarter whose limbs you have touch as you pass through. (I mean, you don\u2019t have<\/i> to, but why settle for a mundane life?) Atop the hill were once a bike and fallen branch on neighbouring benches. They\u2019re gone now. No one can sit and talk forever.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day\u2019s not so sunny but have legs, will travel<\/i>, so I do. I take glass to the bottle bank and walk a little on the wasteland. I hear geese in the distance and look up to see three giants Vs heading south. I wonder whether, used to mild winters, they\u2019ve changed their minds in this cold snap and broken camp. Great Tits comment on their passing. Comment on everything<\/i>. Their voices are clear water for muddy thoughts. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It begins to snow. Giants flakes! What a great time to be out. Soon my hat and coat are full. I\u2019ve white lashes and the taste of cloud in my mouth. (I hadn\u2019t intended to eat the flakes, but the wind was blowing against me and grinning makes gaps.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photo<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m reluctant to go back inside, so double back and head north. By a few slippery cobbles I see a ball of dark yarn. It\u2019s unravelling. A thread snakes down the street for several metres through the snow. I wonder whose it was. Maybe the kerb is learning crochet \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swing by the caf\u00e9 to give and receive gifts. (Sehnsucht likes a Chilean red.) Being inside though makes me long for sky. After a while, I quit the place for home and eat some lunch. The sun comes out to taunt me. We hoover the flat together and are content.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(*) In contrast to giants, who are often content to sit idly in their dells, only venturing out on occasion to eat a village. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bright winter’s day in which are reaching trees, walking crows, and UFOs. There’s also a ball of wool …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":54960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[310,308,307,209,306,309],"class_list":{"0":"post-54961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cf","8":"tag-elster","9":"tag-fairy","10":"tag-graffiti","11":"tag-leipzig","12":"tag-tree","13":"tag-wool"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54961"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54970,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54961\/revisions\/54970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/urbanmole.is\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}