MARCH – The Season of Hope
Far away a lonely bell was ringing, and it echoes through my mind, for here I come when fuss and fret seems set to overwhelm. As I stop to listen, I could hear the cries of the herring gulls sailing high above. Suddenly two gulls fall from the sky, the male then begins a long-drawn-out cry raising and lowering his head. His cries are audible above the thrum of the traffic close by, and intrude my thoughts, arresting my attention. He then dances for her with potent perplexing sounds, woven into dense mesmeric spells, which hide inside its complexity and posits the existence of an invisible natural force. Having danced for her for many moments he offers her a pebble, but she rejects it. He dances again then offers her a little orange trinket – a discarded bottle top, he is then rewarded by her willingness to receive his love gift, relieving him of his loneliness she accepts his devotion, producing something so wholly original and appealing out of such unpromising ingredients. I leaned upon my stick for there was no place I needed to be any time soon. I breathe deeply the joy that was completely unasked for, I was lost for the best part of twenty minutes and felt all the richer for it.
Upon the full moon which will occur on the 25th of March the hen will lay the first of her precious eggs. This will be the first full moon of spring also known as a worm moon. This is when there is an emergence of earth worms, brought to the surface as new life stirs within the soil. There will now be a rich bounty, a plentiful supply of live food for all manner of birds and small mammals to feast upon. As I shift my thoughts, suddenly in the flit of a breeze, a cloud of dust dances as if the wind had summoned a dancing spirit. It swirls in circles as if giving a spiritual meaning, and I am thankful for the moment, for the incredible opportunity to join in the dance of the cosmos, the living things and the countless others our precious mother earth supports.
March is now dropping hints of spring everywhere, coaxed from the earth by lengthier daylight hours and sunshine. Every day brings something new, wood anemones and violets are making steady growth, the hedge parsley and the woodruff beneath the hedgerows are showing green as I breathe in the scents of the earth and of growing things. My ear detects the sound of a male greenfinch in the now budding hawthorn hedge shrilling loudly to attract a female to win her heart. In the tall trees above the woodpigeons are busy building a platform for their open nest to rear their precious young where the gentle happy cooing of the collared doves fills the air. As I look across the flooded field after heavy rain, a pair of oyster catchers root through the mud for worms and bathe in the afternoon sun, an unexpected sight. However, they stayed for six consecutive days before heading back to their coastal home.
There are wonderful teachable moments that nature can teach us, ones that are not manufactured but discovered. By heightening our perception, they can affect both the heart and the emotions, and I will keep them as a morale booster for whenever I feel particularly challenged. The Spirit of nature has a strange and wonderful power, a spirit that has led and guided me to live the life I live. As I reflect in generous loving detail an unbelievably rich life a felicitous remembrance of a unique open education.
