Plum Blossom in the Lake District
Photographed by Gill Henwood
Let us be be grateful
to people who make us happy.
They are the charming gardeners
who make our souls blossom.
~ Marcel Proust ~
Photograph by Gill Henwood
And so the spring buds burst.
Tag: Lake District
Ordinary Time?
The short period between the end of the Christmas Season (at Candlemass on February 2nd) and Lent, is known in the Church as ‘Ordinary Time’.
As far as Nature is concerned this is very far from the truth. In the Western Hemisphere and particularly in Europe we are moving into the season of Spring. Though in many parts of Europe it has been a particularly stormy and wet period of late, there are many signs that there is new life emerging from the earth.
The photos which my friend Gill Henwood has sent show “hellebores in full flower and an early rhododendron.” She says that “both were budding before Christmas and, so far, have weathered frost and wind”, not forgetting hares which have turned their attention towards other plants this year!
The Christmas Box plant has been wafting beautiful scent throughout Cristmastide. The aroma is fabulous even on dark mornings and dark night walks in the garden. For Gill, this is a reminder of the Frankincense of Christmas.
The ‘Greening’ of the earth which Gill’s photos point to is being experienced through the emergence of buds and bulbs shooting on branches and in the soil. Crocus and daffodil are close behind. My tulips are pushing leaves through the top of the pots, seeking the breath of light and life. This morning, near the church path, buds and a dusting of green spoke to me of God’s amazing creative activity. This Winter has been harsh for many and the world situation is so dire that there is a need for us to re-focus.
Right on cue we can fill our lungs with a breath of hope and wonder.
We can find joy in the singing of the birds and soon the animal kingdom will fill our fields, forests & woodlands and gardens with new life. Bees and butterflies, insects and worms will populate our gardens, hedgerows,lakes and ponds. So much new life and growth will teem and swirl, dance full of life and reach to heaven as the trees prepare to become shade and homes and hiding places for all manner of creation..
And we? The Spirituality of Nature lifts our souls from creation to Creator.
All this is gift from our giving God!
And in a mutual thanksgiving, our part is to be custodians and stewards of the earth, living in deep friendship with Creation, Nature, and with all who allow us to share this earth with them.
As the poet Rumi reminds us:
Such a giving from God leaves no room for anything from us but compassion and love for all.
Hardly an Ordinary Time!
[Mr G. with thanks and love to Gill Henwood for her wonderful photos
and comments.]
After the Rain
My friend Gill Henwood has been reflecting on Midsummer life in the Lake District, Cumbria.
She sent me her reflection in the form of a poem with a P.S. about Nature at work. When she sent it, we were all awaiting the August Summer Storm christened by the weather people as Floris. The North of England, the whole of Scotland and the Western Isles as far as Orkney are bearing the brunt of it, but already things are improving in Cumbria.
Gill invites us to ponder on the beauty, stillness and calm, which can so often follow a storm. This is not just true of Nature but also in our own lives too. Sometimes we are buffeted about by what life throws at us but God is always near, ready to throw his rainbow cloak of love in a great arc over us. We do, however, like Elijah in 1 Kings 19, be still to hear and know God is there for you.
Here’s Gill’s poem:
AFTER THE RAIN. Gill Henwood
The winds are soughing
In the beech tree canopy.
Sound ripples away
As the waves on a beach.
Lichens reach into the air
Dewdrops and sun
A rich garden
Growing on the stump.
Badgers have clawed
Bark for grubs,
Dragonflies shimmer
Past, in the sun shafts.
Life is renewed
The seasons turn again
After rain, the sun.
After storms, the calm.
And throughout, the
still
small
voice.
1 Kings 19:11-13
P.S.
The dragonfly, emerald and gold, dazzled me. S/he flew on but, having stopped, I looked. Noticed. A miniature garden on the decaying tree stump. Was s/he a fleeting messenger? “Remember, it’s Lammas…”.
The farmer was baling the hay last night at 10pm, headlights on the tractor, collecting the bales before overnight rain. First fruits, in the sheep-dwelt fells: the grass harvest for winter feed.
And for all the local creatures of hedges, dry stone walls, woods and tarns: plentiful seeds, berries, nuts, leaves. A harvest festival is quietly underway.
[Lughnasad is the Celtic name for Lammas, time of the ‘first fruits’ of harvest. (Newgrange website) Lammas is the Christian Festival on August 1st when we give thanks for Harvest that is coming and offer to God the gifts of the Land.]
Gill Henwood
posted by Mr G. 5th August 2025
Keep me as the apple of your eye
An early morning reflection from the Lake District
by my friend, Gill Henwood.
Out early morning, the dogs have swum in Tarn Hows
and we’re returning through the woods above Coniston.
The birds are singing all around us,
in the unfurling tender canopy of leaves and tree blossom.
No wind: the day is rapidly heating in the nearly-summer sun.
A cuckoo sounds across the fells. We heard two yesterday in Little Langdale
… heralds of summer (and danger, if you are a future foster parent bird sitting on eggs).
The shade of the delicate canopy brought to mind:
“Keep me as the apple of your eye
Hide me under the shadow of your wings.”
Psalm 17.8
The peace and calm of protecting shade, the ‘wings’ of myriad mature trees above.
But other wings break into the birdsong (though they ignore them).
Fighter jets are training, flying circuits below the fell tops, preparing for defence,
reminding us that peace and calm have a terrible cost.
Thinking of Ukraine, the Middle East, people in conflict wherever.
May they one day hear the birds sing, the cuckoo call, and find shelter under shading trees.
Till then, may our prayer be with the psalmist,(above)
prayed at Night Prayer, Compline, the traditional offices, prayed at Night Prayer, Compline, the traditional offices.
Gill Henwood.
May 2025
Mr G's Ponderings 