Quiet Contemplation

Today I am having a lovely day with some members of my family, reflecting on good and sad days and times we have shared, as we contemplate the future and hope that fate will bless us - and you - with more good days than bad.

It is a sunny day where we are at present, and, as many of us know, for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, the Sun is not only a life giver which helps our food to grow, mature and ripen, but it also fills our heart with a certain enthusiasm for life; making us, probably, think it is a day for living and not dying.

Anyway, just before mid-morning I decided to go for a walk in the woods nearby by where I am spending a few days - Rocky Grove, I think it is called - and was able to do some quiet contemplation as I absorb the life around me. Now, this woodland is not very big, but it has a character and habitat which is unique to it. I was blessed to hear and see the fauna and flora around me. A small variety of bird species, including crows, tits, robins, pigeons, black birds, some yellow butterflies and, believe it or not, a pair of green parakeets. I also saw two entries to badgers' sets, and deer spores, although I did not see any deer; that pleasure was left to one of my colleagues who, while speaking to me on the mobile - yes, interrupting my quiet contemplation - excited informed me that she was looking from her bedroom at a pair of deer.  Well, you cannot have it all, as the saying goes, even if it would be good to do so sometimes.

During my contemplative walk in the woods, I was fascinated by the screeching, chirping  and cacophony of the bird wild life, even if my opportunities to see the smaller and elusive and flitting tits swiftly flying from this tree to the next, in their apparently care-free movements through the woods. There were too many times when I would have liked some of these birds to make themselves seen by me, rather than being heard and not being seen by me.  Again, I am reminded that I cannot have it all, and that there are times when I must suffice by the beauty of their singing, and forgo the visual stimulation of their exquisite plumage,

And what of the trees in this wood? Well, most of the trees seemed to be trees of a certain age, with there being more old, dying and/or dead trees, which led me to contemplate whether this wood will be here in 30 or more years, or, whether, like all living things, it will have its date with destiny.  I was told by a neighbour that it is a very old woodland, with the badgers' sets being very old and having a certain claim to fame.

So, let us beseech the gods that this wood does survive for many decades to come, and continue to support the wildlife and flora it is home to; as well as providing a contemplative refuge for the people who are enjoying its embrace.

A crow chillin!

OWOHROD