Evening brings a kind of pallor to the square. The last of the narrow-leaved vetch flowers are closed and only the white marsh thistle and the bramble flowers shine out.
There is colour showing now on the buds of the as yet unidentified St. Johnswort and the greater bird’s-foot trefoil will not be far behind in sending its yellow slipper flowers from Our Lady’s pincushions in which they lie.
There are still a few pale blue forget-me-nots, but they will fade soon. They seem particularly appropriate for the day on which our much loved granddaughter Elly has gone to stay with an aunt and will no longer be a constant spirit of joy and delight around our house. Almost every day she came with me to Emthree and wondered at the magical world of woodlice and snails under the stones and stumps. Once again I will have to make my visits alone, but they will be full of memories. Fare well little girl.
But an enchantment of hope brightened my reflections. As I stood on Troy Track a tiny wood mouse peeped out from under the yew log Elly loved to roll back. She pottered across Submespilus Assart, her sleek coat shining with movement like bright brown water. Then she was on Troy Track and climbed first on one of my shoes, then on the other before carrying on with her journey into the depths of the long grass.
I am, of course, much too sensible to believe that our magic granddaughter has learned to shape shift, but I have never before had a mouse explore both my shoes like that, and the route she took was very much over the ground where Elly is sitting in the picture above.
There is colour showing now on the buds of the as yet unidentified St. Johnswort and the greater bird’s-foot trefoil will not be far behind in sending its yellow slipper flowers from Our Lady’s pincushions in which they lie.
There are still a few pale blue forget-me-nots, but they will fade soon. They seem particularly appropriate for the day on which our much loved granddaughter Elly has gone to stay with an aunt and will no longer be a constant spirit of joy and delight around our house. Almost every day she came with me to Emthree and wondered at the magical world of woodlice and snails under the stones and stumps. Once again I will have to make my visits alone, but they will be full of memories. Fare well little girl.
But an enchantment of hope brightened my reflections. As I stood on Troy Track a tiny wood mouse peeped out from under the yew log Elly loved to roll back. She pottered across Submespilus Assart, her sleek coat shining with movement like bright brown water. Then she was on Troy Track and climbed first on one of my shoes, then on the other before carrying on with her journey into the depths of the long grass.
I am, of course, much too sensible to believe that our magic granddaughter has learned to shape shift, but I have never before had a mouse explore both my shoes like that, and the route she took was very much over the ground where Elly is sitting in the picture above.
5 comments. Please leave a comment.:
Most little girls communicate with the Pixie world, in turn they move among the mice, trading, swapping stuff, telling stories etc.
I'll bet this was how the mouse knew about your grand-daughter. She must have left something for them!
(Kidding of course! but even science should make room for fantasy) :)
Couldn't agree more Ray. :)
Thats quite reassuring to hear you say that Charles.
I think we sometimes dissect and catalogue the natural world without enough attention to imagination and childlike awe, the place where learning really begins.
I think in some ways it goes a step beyond the stage of where we statistically measure, count, record, graph, summarise, etc etc.
Don't be too sure that it is just fantasy. My sister appears (or often just sings) to me in the form of a wren. This world is nothing without magic and the boundary between our world and the world of dreams is very, very faint......
We also can conjure great and fantastic connections when we want, need, or are able to appreciate them. What better than a field mouse to represent a little girl and reward you for your good work in the natural world?
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