What is this life, if full of care.......

Leisure

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 till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.




W.H. Davies

This is one of my favourite poems. Most mornings, weather permitting, I sit on the stone steps in the garden with my first cup of tea of the day. It's the best time of the day, before lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, car alarms and a host of other noises can be heard. If you sit quietly, within the space of about ten minutes, the creatures round about you come to accept you as part of the garden scenery. All at the same time my company included bees, a robin, a baby dunnock, a great-tit, a blue tit and several field mice, all almost within touching distance.

I seem to be the source of fascination for one of the adult mice (I'm assuming it's the same one who does it). He has a vantage point for viewing me, under the Geranium Johnson's Blue on the wall beside the steps where I sit. It's only about a foot away. He peers out at me for ages and only scampers away if I make a movement. Maybe he's wondering what kind of creature is this that appears at the same time as the crumbs of bread and seed!

As much as I appreciate the company of people, I'm so glad that the world is inhabited by other species, and the garden is a mini-world full of creatures with which we share a quiet acceptance.


Update on Billy and Martin's garden
The hedges are trimmed, there is now a lawn of sorts (though it's all lumps and bumps!), it's fenced off, a few flowers have been planted as well as about 100 onion sets and there is a well-dug patch ready for potatoes to go in. And the best bit is, Billy and Martin are now able to reach their washing line to peg out their long johns!

A little sadness.....
It occurred to me this Summer that I have lost my sense of smell. I'm unable to smell the Sweet Peas, the Lilies, the Roses and all the other scented flowers in the garden. I had a respiratory infection earlier in the year so that could be the cause, in which case (hopefully), the loss will be temporary. I'm hesitant in going to the doctor about it as I'm not keen on the idea of having a tube shoved up my nose (nasal endoscopy)! I know there are far, far worse disabilities in life, but for a gardener.......... well, I was so looking forward to enjoying the scent of those Sweet Peas.

Meet Deppy

He's in the first photograph..... honest, he is! If you look closely in the bottom right-hand corner of the photo (or click on it to enlarge), you'll see him. For years we've enjoyed watching the antics of the field-mice in our garden and this is the first time I've been able to capture one on film... digitally I mean. It's not a fantastic photo but I was pleased all the same that he stayed still long enough to have his portrait taken. Every other time I've attempted to photograph one of the field mice, just as I click the button on my camera it scurries off and, sure enough, on checking the picture I'm left with a boring composition of some foliage and an empty space where little mousie should have been. Now at least I have a boring composition with a fat little furry creature in it!

I'm guessing this particular one must be an adult because he's quite large..... or maybe he's just been pigging out on the mouse and hamster food I got for them from the pet shop! We've seen a few baby ones too which isn't surprising since field mice reproduce several times per year. The babies are so sweet. Perhaps this one is an expectant mum.

The little character in the photograph is called Deppy, but then so is every field mouse in our garden..... they're all called Deppy! It's our generic name for them. When we spot one we say, "There goes a Deppy." And if we see a baby, it's a baby Deppy. You might be wondering why..... the second picture tells all. Both these wonderful creatures have huge brown eyes.

See what I mean!

Who stole my crystal?!

In the garden, in full view of the sitting room, grows a Rowan tree (also known as Mountain Ash) on which I like to hang crystals. It's lovely to watch the sunlight reflecting off them...... and I find them more soothing than wind chimes. :)

A couple of months ago I noticed one of the crystals was missing and guessed that it had been blown down during some stormy weather we'd been having. However on searching for the crystal, it was nowhere to be found. Every so often I'd search that particular area diligently but still couldn't find it and, eventually, I gave it up as a mystery.

Yesterday, the mystery was solved...... I think. On dismantling our rock garden, I was amazed and delighted to find the crystal along with a collection of nuts (the metal kind), screws and biscuit wrappers! No way could the crystal have rolled there because this little batch of treasure was hidden right under where the wall of rocks had been.

We have lots of field mice in our garden and my hubby told me that mice are attracted to shiny objects and it would have been they who were responsible for 'stealing' my crystal and adding it to their stash of goodies! :)

I'm aware that certain birds, such as Magpies and Jackdaws, like to collect shiny items, but I had no idea that mice did likewise. Has anyone else heard of this happening?