![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dj9jqhxgw9833.cloudfront.net\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2022\/10\/541c17e9-0e9b-4747-9986-ab49211480ad-edited.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\nAt last, a mountain hare in full winter ermine, stark against the Munro and in the middle of our frame. Near the top of the peak at Coignashie, part-driven, part-hiked, with whipping late-January winds, this beautiful mammal sat perfectly broadside, with us, too, in its sights. For an upbeat crew with an enthusiastic contributor and at only 11.10am, earning time for a coffee stop, it was a triumphant moment. And yet, reflecting on the experience, I felt… not very much. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n Raking through my memories for this column\u2019s brief \u2013 favourite wildlife haven or wild place \u2013 other wildlife wonders left me unemotional: releasing newly ringed birds directly from my palm, crouching inches from the vast head of a hulking bison in Kent, spray-painting pristine seal pups on the rocky shores of Skomer Island, assisting in hedgehog hospitals and hand-feeding red deer. Is it because I\u2019m spoiled? Yes. But something else as well. For each moment with these magnificent animals was tainted by the understanding that they were either terrified of me or fenced in. With all the \u2018I come in peace\u2019 vibes I can muster, the fact remains that humans are terrifying destructive predators and that truth rather gets in the way of being uplifted by the encounter. <\/p>\n\n Back in May 2019, I saved a document entitled \u201830 Things I Want To Do Before I Die\u2019. At number 23 was \u201cmake friends with a wild animal\u201d. Not a friendship that interferes with its world, but one that eventually reaches a moment of trust where it feels like we\u2019ve seen each other on our own terms. I haven\u2019t managed it yet. You have to put in the time.<\/span><\/p>\n\n But there have been experiences on Countryfile <\/em>when I\u2019ve got close \u2013 or at least got started: <\/p>\n\n \u2022 In the waters around the Farne Islands, an hour of trying to look unthreatening paid off when a lone male seal greeted my hand with its nose. These and more are what for me makes a wild place special: focus. The sad and small are included in this. Looking down at the blackbird, warm in my hand, as one of my tears splashed precisely into the now crumpled lens of its eye, after my car had hit and killed it. That same day, lifting my hand that had been resting on a door frame and seeing the spider that I\u2019d leant on drop to the ground. Or tiptoeing, out of rhythm along the woodland path, trying to stand on as few wood ants as possible. <\/p>\n\n I have been in the most beautiful nature reserves \u2013 nowhere prettier for a picnic \u2013 surrounded by wildlife that can see me, while I can\u2019t see it, and not memorised a thing about that day. But a moment of focus, in close frequency with the natural world, is when I recall the wonder. And when a spiritual connection with nature is made. <\/p>\n\n Watch Ellie on Countryfile, <\/em>Sunday evenings on BBC One.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n Connecting with nature involves time and attention, rather than seeking to handle or \u2018capture\u2019 the 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with nature involves time and attention, rather than seeking to handle or \u2018capture\u2019 the wild","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24218"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24218"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29314,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24218\/revisions\/29314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}CLOSE ENCOUNTERS <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
\u2022 Sitting on concrete bollards of Newlyn Harbour eating our packed lunch, we watched as the turnstone boys squeaked and comedy-ran in unison after the harbourmaster\u2019s grain.
\u2022 Standing still on the lonely moor, alert to the curlew calls in the air above the lost farms of Weardale, sensing the coming of spring.
\u2022 The assault of thousands of flying insects, in nostrils, ear cavities and scalp, drawn to our vehicle\u2019s headlights on the Avalon marshes near midsummer\u2019s night.
\u2022 Approaching reverently to worship at the altar of an exalted ancient oak towering before me, in a bygone woodland dynasty at Blenheim.
\u2022 The clifftop night on Skomer, pulsating with single-minded storm petrels who had no mind for manners, passing inches from my unseeing head.
\u2022 Gazing bemasked, inches below the temporary water line, into a rockpool universe and the bizarre movements of crabs and beadlet anemones, to the sound of exaggerated snorkel breathing.
\u2022 Gannets raining down upon us to feast in the chummed waters around Bempton Cliffs. <\/p>\n\nGIFT OF ATTENTION <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n
\n\n