The best excuse for a morning walk

I only brought one suitcase to Sheffield. I planned to find whatever I needed in local shops when I got here. But when I got here, I realized I had to relearn what shops had what items. I even spent an entire 45 minutes in a larger super market looking for chocolate because I did not know to look for the word “confectionary” on the sign.

When things are hard to find in America these days, we just rely on Amazon to have it and the postal service to deliver it. Usually it arrives on our doorstep within two days and we can come home to it without worrying. This is not quite how it works in England.

There are several options: you can pick things up from an Amazon drop location, you can arrange for things to be dropped off with you or a neighbor, or if possible, you can get it through the usual postal service. The postal service uses the mail slot in the front door. It’s 9.5 x 2 inches and if your package doesn’t fit through that slot, then they drop off a slip for you to come pick up your package.

The trip down to the regional mail center is a little over 2.5 blocks and a wonderful walk. Since they open at 6am, picking up a package was a good excuse for a morning walk before work. Last fall, I took some pictures on one of these mornings and I thought you might enjoy looking at them.

Upon waking up and going downstairs, I found some unexpected morning visitors:

We had been noticing some sticky spots in the carpet, but I didn’t have an prior experience with slugs. Catching this mother and baby in the kitchen was interesting. I got to see them in action. They were gone when I returned from the post office.

Going out the front door, I accidentally surprised this friendly neighborhood cat engaged in watching the pigeons on our roof. He was quite shy though — I accidentally made him jump down the fence trying to get away from my camera.

I love getting to see the sun at different stages of sunrise as I walk. It is also wonderful to see so many trees.

And the view of the city is wonderful! Until you come over the hill and see all the houses like this, it is hard to believe Sheffield is as large as it really is. The English countryside beyond it is also incredibly beautiful. It is interesting to see such a stark contrast between the houses and the distant greenery.

Continuing down the hill, I had such wonderful timing as to surprise this fox. The left picture was captured perfectly, but I worried that if I didn’t include the earlier picture (right) you might not be able to find the fox.

The walk back is quite steep, but it provides the opportunity to see different views of the trees after the sun is fully up.

On this particular day, I was approached by this cat on the way back. It is quite territorial and demanded attention. I am not used to such treatment by neighborhood cats, nor to see neighborhood cats running around without collars. I thought you might enjoy some pictures of it.

This walk is a wonderful memory and was a great opportunity to get to know Sheffield on real day-to-day lives kind of terms.

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