Tag: nature
-
Mouse in the House
Furry teachers of compassion It’s mouse-in-the-house time of year again. Technically (having caught two of the buggers today), it’s mice-in-the-hice time of year. I love mice. They’re beautiful creatures: sweet, funny, resourceful. There’s some in the compost bin in my garden. I take out food scraps and hear them cheer. What I throw away makes…
-
The shortest day: mental health in a time of change
We’ve reached the shortest day — at least here in the Northern hemisphere. Maximum darkness. Minimum light. As I look at the storm outside my study window, though it’s daytime, it’s gloomy. Barely above half-light. The clouds are low and dense. Everything, sky, earth, trees, the very air itself, sucks light in and gives out…
-
Perfect moments: Finding beauty in the present
I sat last night in my kitchen. Wooden table and white wooden chairs. Outside the wind was, for a while, stilled. No stars. I live in a very quiet place. A few white houses. Fields. Some trees. Peat bog. Behind the house, beyond the hill, ocean. I hear the waves some days. A lighthouse up…
-
Snow
How to build community Where I live, community still matters. People wave when they drive pass. If I’m out walking, often drivers stop to say hello, or ask if I want a lift somewhere. Often enough I don’t lock the house when I go out. If I ask a neighbour for help, I know it’ll…
-
Seasons of the mind
For many years I travelled continually. I was away from home for months on end. Often I’d be packing suitcases for a new trip before unpacking from the one just finished. I saw many wonderous things and worked with extraordinary and beautiful people. I saw the world. But I lost contact with the earth. However…
-
Planting a tree
Yesterday was glorious warm and sunny in Ireland. I planted an oak tree. It’s thigh-high with seven large leaves. I put it near another young oak I planted 18 months ago. It’s even smaller, barely to my knees, but thriving. I hope they’ll meet beneath the ground and be good friends. I fenced the new…
-
Spring Arrives Suddenly
… but ‘sudden’ is an illusion…… Photo by Casper van Battum on Unsplash Spring arrives suddenly. I walk the wild of my garden, amid young trees that one day will be a forest if left enough alone. They’re beech trees. The deep brown leaves of last year cling on through the winter, clothing them in…