Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Things I Sing at 04.30

Woke up this morning at 04h30 and starting singing (in my head) these lyrics...

"Stop Thief! Stop Thief! Not another lettuce leaf will you have
Radishes and parsley, carrots and baby peas, each and every thing belongs to me,
not to you, but to me..
If I catch you, you will die then you'll be rabbit pie,
supper for me wife and I.
Stop Thief, Stop thief!"

Followed by...

"Why do I do it?
What is the cure?
My brothers and my sisters find it easy I am sure,
No-one believes I'd like to be good,
nevertheless, I would.
I think a halo would suit me....
dangling over my head,
and when they behold me,
they wouldn't scold me.
they'd say 'Well done' instead!
Why do I do it? Why do I do it? Why do I do it?
Because it's fun!"

It took me all of 5 seconds to remember where these songs came from, but how weird to have them pop into your head at sparrow-fart!

Does anyone else remember chilling and listening to Beatrix Potter on a record? I loved Peter Rabbit, and the first song was Mr Mcgregor singing as he chased Peter out of his vegetable patch, and the second was Peter singing after he escaped.

Gosh.... I loved those LP's with The Tales of Squirrel Nutkin and Jemimah Puddle Duck and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. I am amazed that after at least 40 years I still remember them - and that with no prompting and at 04h30! Such amazing memories.

Living here now, with forest squirrels and hedgehogs and foxes, I can see how she must have been inspired to write them.

I am going to find Peter Rabbit and have a quick listen before French Class.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Interspecies Communication

I saw this on Facebook a while ago and I loved it. I found myself thinking about it and watching it over and over again.  I think it was a combination of feeling as though I was there, in that forest, since it feels so familiar, and the joy I get from photographing various fungi that I come across...



However, I think what gets me is what he says between 1:05-1:17 and then again from 1:45 to the end.

Sometimes when I am in the forest and I see a deer or a fox or even a bird, I silently say "Hey, don't run away, I just want to look at you...." and I wish that they understood me.  I watched a butterfly the other day unfurl its mouth(?) and begin to suck the nectar from a flower. It was so beautiful and so delicate, and I wished I could say to it... "Gosh, but you are so lovely and so clever!".... and hear it answer back modestly, "I know!" (You will probably think I sound like some kind of freak... but hey, I don't care really.)


Our language is insufficient for "interspecies" communication, 
but I would like to think that perhaps the Author conveys the messages on my behalf!

Along my walks there are always three places I always physically stop at:
  • My Watchman (a huge rock formation that looks like the profile of a man), 
  • My Fantasy tree (that always reminds me that God is known and yet remains mysterious), 
  • My #ivy&me tree (which is my reminder of how God sees him and me) 


Today, I felt physically ill and sobbed like a baby when I noticed that my Fantasy Tree had been chopped down, probably this weekend. I feel as though I have lost a friend. I feel as though the forest had lost a member of its family - there is just a big stump left and nothing more of this neon, mossy, gnarly, whimsical tree to remind me of the mystery among us.



This is all that was left of my tree today... and no doubt the rest of the trunk will follow soon. **

I know people will say that it was old and dead and that it needed to come down, or that there are more trees so, move on.

And I will move on, but not today.

Today I just want to be sad that my tree is gone and I wish I had the language to say how sorry I am in "forest-speak".


                                             * * * *









 **  16/10/2016:  
A tree update: On further inspection with My Man today, we noticed that a very young tree next to it was missing its top. We have decided that it is possible that the tree blew over, damaging the one next to it on the way down. He also pointed out that it's unlikely a woodchopper would climb the trunk and chop it off there. It would have been done at the base. So I have decided to believe that it fell from natural causes. It feels better that way.

    

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