Category: Uncategorized

The Geese Go Whistling By (2)

Mary Oliver’s poetry celebrates the wonders of nature, and I love this poem by hers, called “Whistling Swans”. Here are some of its wonderful lines:

“Even when the swans are flying north and making

such a ruckus of noise, God is surely listening and understanding.

Rumi said, There is no proof of the soul.

But isn’t the return of the spring and how it

springs up in our hearts a pretty good hint?”

from “Whistling Swans” by Mary Oliver

I recently witnessed – not whistling swans – but geese, making “such a ruckus of noise” at Polemere nature reserve, just off the Pontesbury Road. There was also a huge flock of lapwing, who displayed themselves both in the air and on the ground.

Spring is definitely returning, and springing up in hearts in Shropshire, as snowdrops and even daffodils are starting to appear.

I hope that either nature, or Mary Oliver’s lines, will make something spring up in your heart by the time you have finished reading this post.

Greylag geese in flight, Polemere nature reserve, Shropshire, February 2022

The Geese Go Whistling By

Mary Oliver’s poetry celebrates the wonders of nature, and I love this poem by hers, called “Whistling Swans”. Here are some of its wonderful lines:

“Even when the swans are flying north and making

such a ruckus of noise, God is surely listening and understanding.

Rumi said, There is no proof of the soul.

But isn’t the return of the spring and how it

springs up in our hearts a pretty good hint?”

from “Whistling Swans” by Mary Oliver

I recently witnessed – not whistling swans – but geese, making “such a ruckus of noise”.

And spring is definitely returning, and springing up in hearts in Shropshire…

I hope that either nature, or Mary Oliver’s lines, will make something spring up in your heart by the time you have finished reading this post.

Greylag geese in flight, Polemere nature reserve, Shropshire, February 2022

Nature’s Painterly Eye

The lapwings

Took me by surprise

~

I had not expected

To see anything

On such dull day

~

But suddenly the fly

And flash of black and white

Flapping above the hedgerow

Caught my heart

~

And then there were the cries

And hundreds took flight

Disappearing so soon

Dots on the canvass

Of the sky

~

Irresistible to Nature’s

Painterly eye.

~

Flock of Lapwing, Polemere Nature Reserve, Shropshire, UK

Light Dawns at Wroxeter

Celtic spring (“Imbolc”) began this week, on February 1st, and light is slowly beginning to fight back against the predominance of darkness.

I recently photographed this beautiful sunrise at Wroxeter Roman city, and some words by the poet Mary Oliver – “darkness opening into morning is enough” – inspired this short poem:

~

The magic

Of the darkness

~

Of the morning

Transfigured

~
Into light

Is enough.

~

Mindful of Sunsets

How often do we stop and simply look and appreciate what is all around us?

I recently stopped on my commute and took some photographs of a most beautiful sunset in the village of Atcham in Shropshire.

In many ways it was an ordinary sunset, if there is such a thing as an ordinary sunset!

But when you take photographs, it does make you pay more than usual attention to composition, shapes and colours. And the more I looked, the more I noticed.

Not only were the clouds such beautiful, changing hues of orange, red and grey, but many were also, as in the photograph, reflected beautifully in the stillness of the Severn, where I could also see the perfect reflected silhouettes of trees.

It was a very memorable few minutes.

And it reminded me of the power of how good it is to be deliberately mindful in the way we use our amazing sense of sight.

It’s a very worthwhile exercise just to take a few moments every day to look mindfully at our surroundings. Really loook at details, shapes, colours. See what you notice! See if you, too, are sometimes inspired!

Sunset, Atcham in Shropshire, January 2022

Tones of Happiness – for National Robin Day

“National Robin Day is an annual nationwide event raising awareness of small birds and other wildlife in winter and how we can help them through this tough time of year...The cold winter months are especially tough for animals; as temperatures drop and food becomes scarce, wildlife such as garden birds need a little extra help.” Visit https://www.nationalrobinday.co.uk/ to find out more!

~

A robin sang

from the branches of a winter tree

~

His belly was as bright as the day

his breast red as the sunset

~

Gracing my winter spirit

with tones of happiness.

~

Robin, Shrewsbury, Autumn 2021