More wildlife adventures in today's mail. And some reflections on what they inspire.

As I have written before, we are lucky enough on our coastline to have regular visits from pods of dolphins which are resident further north. Very occasionally the pod size exceeds fifty animals! It's a particular thrill to see such large numbers of these wonderful creatures. This week a report came in that a group of this size was heading south into Scarborough. At the time I was at the bird cliffs further south still, and I was excited to think the pod could turn up there later.

Wildlife watching always involves tremendous luck... to be in the right place at the right time and be looking in the right direction! And it certainly has its ups and downs. Indeed, learning to deal with feelings at the times we 'miss out' can be a valuable lesson. It has been for me. In the past, I used to regularly feel extremely disappointed if I 'missed out' on a wildlife sighting, often accompanied by self-criticism such as 'You should have been up earlier'. And sometimes this spiralled into further negative thinking, leaving me feeling miserable and despondent. Not a helpful process!

Over time, I have learnt to handle such times with much more self-kindness. I have reframed my thinking - I count my blessings when I do have a wonderful sighting, and say something like 'not my time' when I don't get to see the wildlife. I may still feel some mild disappointment, but rarely chide myself now.

So to return to the huge pod of dolphins. I was watching the gannet nest at Bempton when the wildlife group posted the pod was passing through Scarborough. Though unpredictable, the travel time to me could have been a couple of hours. I imagined how wonderful it would be to see them. But it was not to be that day. The pod turned back and forth along the coast, and finally turned up at Bempton in the evening, two hours after I had left! I experienced some mild but transient disappointment but had to smile, saying to myself 'Not to be today'. I appreciated my kind gentle response. And I had had some wonderful sightings of the gannet chick that day (doing very well at a week old - more another time!).

Later the next day there was a report that the large pod of dolphins was heading back north again, possibly about an hour or so from Scarborough. And this was my day. I kept an eye on the reports, and headed out to the quiet of the clifftops just north of Scarborough, to try and see them. Though offering a great vantage point, Scarborough itself would have been very busy with visitors and traffic.

The wind that day was light and the sea very calm. So I could see the pod coming from a mile or two away across the bay. The dolphins were very animated and making huge splashes as they ploughed through the water . It was wonderful watching these lines of white getting closer and closer, until the dolphins became fully visible. They were travelling at full speed, crashing through the water, leaping in small groups surrounded by white spray - so exciting and beautiful to watch. A wildlife friend was there too filming. When the dolphins had passed he decided to chase up the coast to try and see them again. I considered this, but decided to stay in the stillness of the evening. The water was calm again. I sat for another hour. Drinking it all in. Connecting with my own stillness. A deeply nourishing evening.

This week's self-kindness invitation is to notice any situations which tend to stir patterns of self-negation. And then practice finding alternative, kinder responses. Returning to stillness as best you can. Good luck.

Go well.

In warmth and kindness

Barbara