Under a fishing umbrella by the side of a lake in the pouring rain with husband and grandchildren, heaven happens. There is nothing quite so exciting as being at the mercy of the elements but safe! It appeals to our most basic human need for shelter and protection. All our needs are met. We are together, warm and dry and we have a picnic. We are relaxed and at peace. There is nothing we mustdo but enjoy ourselves. It is a precious gift ~ time to be. Grandchildren learn how to fish. They watch the fluorescent tip of the float marking the place where the line enters the water. The bait of sweetcorn gently drifts in the depths as we throw more corn in to attract the fish. And it does. The float waggles then dips down ~ a bite! Ben gets the landing net ready and Rosie slides the…
Invading my space Busy Blue tit emerges Eco warrior!
Blue Tit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I was amused to watch a blue tit flying in and out of a small hole in my brickwork. I thought he might be nest building, but actually he was helping himself to my cavity wall insulation then flying into a nearby bush to line his nest! Whatever next? Central heating? Solar panels?
On one of my many trips to Russia, I was taken to an area of outstanding natural beauty in the Shakhe river valley. We travelled by coach through rustic villages, stopping along the way at small wineries and family businesses selling home made crafts and furniture. The river flows through the Dzhegosh Gorge, where the 33 waterfalls are to be found, as well as rapids, 13 cascades and countless streams! In order to get to the gorge you have to walk through a dense forest of ancient Oak, Maple, Alder and Hornbeam trees. There are also some exotic plants as well as mosses and tiny box trees growing wild there.
Once you arrive at the 33 waterfalls there is a steep and rather treacherous climb up a slippery wooden walkway to the top. From there the views are truly breathtaking. It really is a magical place. Once you have braved the rapids and been soaked by the waterfalls on the way down, you can buy the most amazing pastie type food which is prepared by a local Babushka who cooks them expertly in an old oil drum in the forest. It looked, and was, rough and ready and I did not see a Food Hygiene certificate, but her food tasted wonderful!
The grandchildren have been breeding butterflies and moths in a cage. When they are ready the children release them into the bushes in the morning while the sun is shining. It’s a serious business and Rosie worries about them with maternal zeal.
Looking after the grandchildren during the Easter holidays we stayed in a cabin by a fishing lake. It was freezing cold, as you can see from the snow on the hills, but the children had fun. Ben used the stone owl as a goalpost!
To celebrate National Poetry Month this April, Haiku Heights is hosting a month-long Haiku writing journey. This journey will take Haiku lovers through the alphabet one day at a time, Day 5 is the letter E and the word is Eggshells!
To celebrate National Poetry Month this April, Haiku Heights is hosting a month-long Haiku writing journey. This journey will take Haiku lovers through the alphabet one day at a time. Today’s letter is B and the prompt word is Butterfly.
To celebrate National Poetry Month this April, Haiku Heights is hosting a month-long Haiku writing journey. This journey will take Haiku lovers through the alphabet one day at a time, with the first stop being the letter A! The prompt word today is Ascent.
My inspiration came from an enormous Murmuration of Starlings that I am thrilled to watch as the sunsets over the carpark at Gloucester Royal Hospital each evening. It really is spectacular but most people are in such a hurry that they fail to look up to see it.
Starlings at Dusk, Herefordshire (Photo credit: soundslogical)
The weather is so beautiful today and Spring is so exquisite that I just have to repeat a quote from Thomas Traherne the 17th century Poet & Mystic
“Heaven! is not that an Endless Sphere
Where all thy Treasures and thy Joys appear?
If that be Heaven it is Evrywhere
…
Heaven surely is a State and not a Place
To be in Heaven’s to be full of Grace
Heaven is wherever we see God’s face.”
I recently took a walk in Painswick to see the snowdrops at the Rococo Gardens. By the lake children were playing and birds were singing. The sky was blue and the soft breeze blowing through the trees was chilly but welcome. The snowdrops were beautiful and the company was great. It is one of those special places, a sacred space filled with peace and natural beauty, which justify Traherne’s words.
This post is inspired by haiku Heights prompt word “Breeze”.
On of my favourite places is London. There is nothing so inspiring as the city skyline viewed from the South Bank of the Thames on a summer’s evening. Imagine feeling a gentle breeze drifting over the river at sunset and listening to the birds singing in nearby trees ~ magical! Do click on my link to hear the fabulous Glenn Miller Band playing one of my favourite songs ~ the inspiration for this haiku ~ with a nod to one of my favourite poets too ~Thomas Hardy.
One of my favourite times of year in the Vale of Evesham and generally in the Cotswold, is Spring, when the blossom covers the fruit trees and the ornamental cherry is out.
Boughs bend to the breeze
Covering the earth in a
Blanket of blossom
Ornamental cherry
Watching butterflies
Their beauty borne on the breeze
Children barely breathe
Butterfly in captivity
There are times when a gentle breeze can have a powerful effect, as can a still small voice.
Gazing on Taize
Sunflowers bow to the breeze
And my spirit soars
I will never forget the time I went to Taize. In the 1940s Roger Schutz was appalled by the violence and suffering he saw across Europe. Throughout the war years, he sheltered political refugees, especially Jews, whom he helped cross the border into Switzerland from the occupied region of France. He began to develop the idea of a community based on mutual understanding and respect for all. He found a suitable site at Taize near Cluny in the Burgundy region of France and on Palm Sunday of 1948, seven men took monastic vows. They dedicated their lives to working and praying for ‘outsiders’ of all kinds; especially those living in extremes of poverty, hunger, or disease. Taize is now famous for its gentle and powerful worship built on meditation through repetitive chants, a model of worship which has spread around the world. Brother Roger’s work continues; to bring reconciliation, unity and peace to all the peoples of the world. www.taize.fr
There is a beautiful icon of Mary in the Church of Reconciliation in Taize. I would recommend anyone who travels to France to make a detour so that they can spend some time there and see this Icon.
Icon of Madonna and child from the chapel at Taize
When I went to Taize one summer I had an amazing experience. I stood alone in a field full of sunflowers, at the foot of the hill looking up towards the church, as a gentle breeze blew. The wind caused the flowers to bend and the sound they made was so strange. It reminded me strongly of the beautiful words of one of my favourite hymns:
Be still for the presence of the Lord
Be still for the presence of the Lord The holy one is here
Come bow before him now With reverence and fear
In him no sin is found We stand on holy ground
Be still for the presence of the Lord The holy one is here
Be still for the power of the Lord Is moving in this place
He comes to cleanse and heal To minister his grace
No work too hard for him In faith receive from him
Be still for the power of the Lord Is moving in this place
Heavenhappens 