a mingled yarn
nature notes from a daily walk
The recent high winds, have wrought havoc in the hedgerow along the lane where I walk the Delinquent Dog. Three times since November the lane has been blocked by fallen trees.
The farmers have done a good job of removing the debris, but this gnarled and rotten old trunk has been left at the side of the field, no doubt a wonderful home for tiny wildlife. I’m just fascinated by the shapes and textures. Every day I seem to see something different.
)O(
Dew-covered webs, twinkling in the early morning sunshine.
It looked as if Mother Nature had pulled a hair-net over her while she slept.
By mid-morning, they were gone.
In which dripping feels like the appropriate word.
It’s raining here this morning. This is good news, as we’re in the official drought zone and hose pipes are a no-no, probably for the rest of the year, according to the man on the radio.
The girls are back at school today. Unusual for the weather to take a nose dive when they go back – more often it’s the other way around.
It feels quiet in the house now. I’ve done the chores and I’ll be sitting down to stitch once I’m finished here. Progress as such, has been very slow over the last couple of weeks. I always find it harder to get into the stitching when the girls are around, and anyway, there’s just too much going on.
But I’m also feeling that tingly sensation that heralds the need to move on to something new. I think the sketch book might come out this week.
Little droplets of inspiration flit across my brain and then are gone.
Happy stitching/crafting/creating.
My mum loved celandines, she thought of them as the first real sign of spring. When she made her will, she specified that my brother and I should scatter her ashes when the celandines were in flower.
This morning when I took a walk along the path near our house, I was struck by the drifts of celandines. It was still quite early when I took the pictures, so most of the flowers were still closed up, but you can get some idea.
It was just as if nature had laid a green and speckled yellow carpet down on this side of the stream.
Last weekend, we finally took mum and dad’s ashes and fulfilled mum’s wish. It was a moving day, but it also felt right. We knew that it was what they wanted, and letting them free seemed to release some of the tension and feelings of grief we’d been holding on to.
Somehow mum must have known that spring is a good time to deal with grief. It’s impossible for me to be entirely downhearted when there is so much new life happening all around us. Although it was a completion in mum and dad’s life, it was also a new beginning and I feel strongly that we are all part of a cycle that carries on through eternity. That too feels comforting for me.
The only thing that I can’t quite get my mind into, is the colour scheme. Yellow and green are just not hitting my creativity buttons. I try to use this combination quite often, but it generally turns out just looking a tad mucky. I think today, if I get the chance, I’ll have another go and see if this good mood I’m in can transform my colour block. Don’t hold your breath.
This morning we tried out the new path that links the road we live in, with the riverside path that until very recently was a long diversion to reach. It’s simply wonderful, because now we can leave the front door and in just a couple of minutes be right in the countryside. I feel as if I’ve moved house and gone to live in the country, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.
Now we can get straight to the school without having to cross roads and we have the benefit of a lovely nature walk instead.
If I set off in the other direction, I can be on the towpath of the Grand Union Canal in about five minutes from leaving the house, and if I walk northwards, I’ll be in countryside for at least eight miles.
This is so liberating, I feel as if I’m on a bit of a high.
So as I walked home this morning I was fascinated by the way that spring has suddenly started. Well it is Imbolc today so I suppose that’s as it should be. Welcome spring, and a happy celebration to all pagans.
A heron flew along the river for a minute or two with me – sheer delight.
I’m still having to do my preparation mentally at the moment, but the work is coming along well, so with luck, by the end of the week I’ll be able to get the paints out.
Dreaming In Stitches 