Reflections on a Sunny Day
Having been forced to take a break from running, by a poorly knee, I have found unexpected joy through gently walking my training routes instead:
I have time to stop and really look at the smaller delights of nature growing on our verges and amongst our hedgerows, I can stop without feeling that I’m somehow ‘cheating’, and I can lean on a farm gate to gaze at the wonderful view. Yes I know that I can, and do, marvel at nature’s beauty when I run, but it is usually an appreciation of the whole scene, rather than the detail – from fleeting glances which can easily miss the less obvious, slightly hidden pieces of beauty.
These are a few of the things I saw on my last walk:
Primrose – this small perennial grows in swathes and is amongst the first wild flowers to appear early in the year, lifting our spirits with their bright faces.
Chickweed, Stitchwort, or ‘Star of Bethlehem’ – a creeping perennial which has many names, is often overlooked by passers-by, but which is important for bees, butterflies and hoverflies looking for spring nectar.
Hawthorn – a common sight in our hedge-rows, where it relieves the brown woodiness of these early months by dressing it with delicate white flowers. Able to grow almost anywhere, the hawthorn provides protection and food to many animals and over 200 types of insects.
Dandelion – why is this plant not more appreciated? It is highly nutritious, can be cooked or eaten raw, grows virtually anywhere and it’s flower head is surely a reflection of the sun itself!
The dandelion also has a most beautiful seedhead – which has served as a ‘clock’ in many childhood games.
Ground ivy – a welcome addition of blue, this pervasive creeper also provides pollen for many wild bees.
Then, looking upwards, there was the beauty of yellow gorse flowers against the pale blue sky ….
… and the magnificent form of an old Hawthorn reaching above the rest of the hedge.
Noticing these things and more, I was reminded of a well-known poem that my mum used to quote:
Leisure
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?-
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows:
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:
No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
W.H. Davies (1911)
I won’t pretend that I am not missing running, but hopefully I will get back to it soon. In the meantime, I will take my time, stop, stare and watch nature dance.
Comments
It’s great to take time to appreciate the small things. No mention of wild garlic? Perhaps one for the next blog post.
Lovely to see this focus on the plants commonly found in our hedgerows and verges, though no mention of wild garlic? Perhaps a recipe blog post next?