Time to Stop and Stare

 

 

“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 til her mouth can, enrich the smile her eyes began

A poor life this is, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare”

William Henry Davies

At last, a couple of days holiday from work.  Holidays that I haven’t had time to use because it’s been so busy.  Early mornings, late nights.  No time to do anything else.  A treadmill of work, home, eat, bed, work.  A never ending cycle.  I enjoy my job but I was in desperate need of a break.  I was grateful to get off the treadmill, at least for a couple of days.  Time to de-clutter my home and my mind.  Time to reflect, time to write.

I walked with the dogs along Victoria Road, towards the Pinewoods and the Beach.  We saw a squirrel on top of a high wall who looked at us for a few seconds before disappearing up a tree.  Almost as though he had stopped to say “hello”.  A fine looking little chap with deep chestnut colouring and a pure white patch on his chest.  If he had been able to smile I would guess it would be a cheeky one, a grin.  We didn’t go to the beach today or take our usual route along the clover path through the Gypsy Wood but turned left along the squirrel walk.  I don’t usually venture this way as it’s popular with tourists who are hoping to catch a glimpse of the squirrels. It’s too busy most of the time with families, dogs, and it stresses William dog if there are too many other dogs around.  The families that visit are usually disappointed looking for the squirrels as they don’t know where to look and squirrels don’t venture out that much during the noisy times.  The best time to catch them is at dusk or early morning before the busyness of the day.   Not busy today, everyone is in work and the woods are still and quiet.  Just a gentle breeze whistling through the trees accompanied by a few squawks and tweets of the birds.  A few people around but mainly those wanting the fresh air, the stillness and quiet like myself.  A man with a zoom lens camera trying to catch a shot of the wildlife. 

Squirrels galore! Running up and down trees, jumping from branch to branch.  Enjoying the spring sunshine.  The leaves are still not out on the trees so the only camouflage are the pine trees.  If you know where to look they are easy to see.  There is no point looking at the ground, you need to look up into the air, to the tops of the trees, towards the sky to see the most amazing things.  There is an interesting world living right above us.    I saw the Magpies and feared for the squirrels as they chase them.  Blackbirds, crows, wood pigeons, starlings and even tiny little finches.  The birds are migrating back.  Then I remembered that I haven’t heard the geese, they’ve moved on, now that spring is on the doorstep.

We continued through the woods catching sight of rabbits skipping between the trees and shrubs.  No sign of the fox this morning, I wondered if she had any more babies in her Den this year.  They’ll be kept hidden until they are old enough to hunt for themselves.  The spring flowers now out in abundance, daffodils, snowdrops, and narcissus. Fighting their way through the remaining debris, pine cones and leaves that winter had left behind.  No snow this year, I missed walking in the woods in the snow but was grateful for not having to drive to work in it.

We continue through the woods,  out into the clearing and turn right along the path that goes past the asparagus farm and just enjoy wandering along on this beautiful spring morning.  It crossed my mind that I was walking along through the woods and no-one around, but I can honestly say that it is not a place that I have ever felt unsafe.  A man and woman appear coming towards me in the opposite direction.  They have a young dog with them, a Border Terrier Cross like William and we stop and chat for a few minutes talking about the breed and their temperament.  A loving dog, that’s’ wilful, can never be let off the lead, totally untrainable, but loyal and faithful.  So many times I had to dig William out of rabbit holes when he was younger, knee deep in nettles, terrified he would get stuck down a rabbit hole or even worse catch a rabbit.  He can only be lead walked now.  Even more so now that he is getting on in years and his eyesight isn’t what it used to be. Penny is the opposite, never wanders far, a little sweetheart, the only thing she likes to chase is a ball.  William on the other hand is a” little git”, too clever for his own good, but he’s my “little git.”  We carry on along our way, admiring the newly erected wood sculptures and then back down past the front of the asparagus farm towards Larkhill Lane.  An elderly man and lady pass me with arms full of daffodil and I wonder why they have picked them.  They are in full bloom so would be dead in a couple of days if they are in a vase so why not leave them where they are to dance in the breeze and for everyone to enjoy them.  If everyone picked the flowers as they walked along, there would be no flowers and I felt annoyed with them for being so selfish.  Perhaps they had a reason, some tale from the past, where the daffodils were of significance to them, I shouldn’t judge.  Everyone has their own tale.

I wonder about the asparagus farm and think of how it was planted just after the war and has now been rejuvenated to produce high quality asparagus.  Such history in such a small place. Now time to make my way home, feeling rejuvenated and pass the people exercising their dogs on the field.  No such joy of chasing a ball of the leash for William.  Too many rabbits for him to chase here.   We make our way home, tired and happy, refreshed and glad to appreciate this lovely  pre-spring morning.