Do we all have them? I really don't know about that. I just know that I - from being quite a small child- have had them. My first one - and one that has existed to this day, albeit changed to fit circumstances, is with Natural History in general - plants wild and garden, birds and (apart from hares) less so about our native wild animals. Hares above all I adore - perhaps because in my childhood they were plentiful in Lincolnshire and seen around often. Certainly it had nothing to do with my mother's love of jugged hare. I could smell it cooking before I came through the gate and I never, ever touched it because it just brought to mind from a very young age the absolute freedom of a running hare in the flat Lincolnshire countryside.
I suppose I inherited the fascination from my Dad; we used to walk the lanes around the village - me with a wild flower book in my hand, he with a bird book. He had a wonderful knack of finding birds' nests. He would part the hedge and show me the nest - if the hen was sitting she would usually sit stock still, watching us carefully and he would quietly let the twigs in the hedge go back and we would move away only whispering what sort of bird she was when we got a bit further away from the nest (sometimes we would find one in the bank on the side of a spring, in a tiny hole in the grass).
When we found a wildflower I would identify it from my book (I soon got to know what they were) and then I would pick just one flower (frowned on these days), put it into the damp paper I carried ready to be pressed and put into my book when I got home. Then I would write a bit about it. (How I wish I had those books now but they have disappeared in the mists of time).
These days of course I no longer walk in the countryside but my love of plants continues - wild or otherwise). Today I see my neighbour's hawthorn tree is bursting into blossom - May blossom as we call it. The smell of the blossom is so strong and so gorgeous. Usually a blackbird sings from the topmost bow but at present I think Mrs B must be sitting on another clutch of eggs so he is busy on my front lawn looking for treats for her. Instead a chaffinch has taken up pole position - a bit monotonous after Mr B. I wonder what Mrs B thinks - her nest in my hedge is only a short distance away from the hawthorne.
As for flowers - my steep garden is coming into bloom again now that the Spting bulbs have largely finished apart from the Alliums which get less each year - I think the field mice like them as winter food.
Many of the blooms out now are either pink, blue or purple, Sadly I can't get up into the steep garden and have to watch from the patio - irritating because many of them I can no longer identify, they are too far away. But I can still look and enjoy.
Other fascinations? Words. But I'll leave that for another day.
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29 comments:
Your dad gave you a marvellous start on learning and appreciating Nature's wonders.
This vividly captures your love of the countryside.
My fascination is with flowers...I just love them all.
hugs
Donna
I have more fascinations than are good for me, and also never eat Hare. 'Ne'er cast a clout 'til May is out' - did they mean the blossom or the finish of it, or even the month and the finish of it?
Like you, my fascination, all of my life has been with wildlife and the countryside and also gardening. It was good to see the lady on Gardeners World last night talking about how gardening has helped her overcome her depressive illness.
Perhaps a small pair of binoculars might allow you to appreciate your plants on the higher parts of your garden?
I like Anonymous' suggestion of binoculars, but I imagine you woult not be able to easily handle them because of your tremor.
Like you, I learned to love nature and animals through my Dad. He taught me most of what I know about trees and animals, and my Mum what I know about flowers and herbs.
Unless a person's life is a permanent struggle for sheer survival, I suppose most of us have fascinations, as you call them. Of course there is little room for looking up wildflowers or reading about Ancient Egypt (my sister's fascination since childhood) when the main worry is where and how to get one's next meal from, or where to spend the night in relative safety - sadly, a reality for millions all over the world.
I enjoy these snippets about your childhood - Pam.
You have fascinated me with the word fascinations and the more I say it the more fascinated I become. Interesting the use of it both as a verb and a noun here in the same sentence.
Its good to have fascinations i think.. keeps life interesting don't you think... and stops one from being boring... I too am fascinated by plants... flowers especially.. Weather fascinates me... I may have been a weatherman/person... in another life..lol quotes and trivia... books! animals of all kinds.. and ofcourse you know drawing and crafts.. I like to turn old things into new things to keep them out of the trash.. Great topic Pat! Hugs! debs
I love the wilds of nature, landscapes and the sea. Living in a home with views in to the woodlands and surrounded by trees, gardens and wildlife makes me happy. The quiet is serene. Tending the woodlands is a joy. Secondly, I do love the sea and do think about building another home on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic ocean. Like you, at a very young age, both my father and grandmother shared their strong interest and ties to the woodlands, wildlife and the sea. Clearly, I am following in their footsteps.
I did not get into identifying wild flowers until I had grown children. I had bought a book. When my husband and I went on a trip I took that book and we had a glorious time discovering all the wildflowers we had missed growing up.
My Grandad was the one who could find bird's nests. He said as children they would take an egg and blow it and swap eggs with friends to make a collection - He was born in 1900 and it was a whole different world in the country before WWI
What a delightful post, Pat! My lifelong interests have been history books and quilts.
DH has always found things (motors, woodworking, boats, trains, cars, etc) that caught his attention and read up on everything to teach himself about the subject. He can do almost anything he tries because of all he has learned! Our sons are the same.
One of my favorite quotes that is framed and in our home since before the boys were born:
"The only cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." - Ellen Parr
Hugs!
We have wild rabbits in our suburban neighborhood. Fewer sightings however due to coyotes. When I do spot a rabbit I freeze in place and just watch them. Same thing with the hummingbirds that come to our feeder-all conversation stops so we can appreciate the beautiful little bird.
I have always loved the outside world and I remember, very clearly, the nature walks when I first started school! When we moved house, we were lucky enough to have a large woodland behind our garden and we would spend hours playing there. We always had some kind of nature book tucked into a pocket but more often than not it was an iSpy book so that we could tick off what we saw.
My Grandma, with whom I would often spend a short holiday, would take me around the quiet lanes of South Devon; she knew the names of all the wild flowers in the then overflowing hedgerows. It was a real joy to have such a holiday as she was also a book lover and I was an avid reader from a very early age. I loved those holidays!
As a primary school teacher, many projects in my classroom were based around the natural world! And of course, there was always a nature table! A must for any primary classroom!
My fascination with nature, like yours, has brought such pleasure. And I always say that the best bit is that much of it is for free! 😁
Your post took me straight back to my own childhood. I love Nature too, and my cousins and I would roam the hedgerows looking for bird nests, but we had been told not to touch any eggs and to leave nesting birds in peace. I remember walks with my father who taught me how to identify trees, and bird calls. I still love woods, trees, and those hidden tiny sunken lanes dotted around the countryside. Much as I love garden flowers, I sometimes think a meadow full of wild flowers is even more beautiful.
I love that quote Ellen.
Thank you everyone - glad to hear I am not alone with my fascinations.
I WISH I had a fascination with plants so that I knew the names of common plants. I wish I had a fascination of insects so that I could recognize many of them.
I enjoy reading about your childhood. It really sounds so wonderful. All these years later traces of that child reside within you still.
Fascinating words! My father teased us when young and gullible, about fascinators. Apparently there was a time when head scarves were called fascinators, and Dad would mesmerize us spinning tales about fascinating young girls who fascinated men with their fascinators, and on and on and on until my mother would say, "Now, John..."
As a young boy, I used to make charts of the weather. Every day's temperature was taken, rainfall measured, and times of daylight and nightfall registered. I have no idea where this interest came from; it didn't last.
Not sure about the insects Red!
Thanks everyone for joining in.
I have similar fascinations to yours - and maps, I can spend hours gazing at them. I trace this back to my childhood too; Dad had a set of old maps that were acquired from the News Chronicle, I seem to remember. They had mysterious lands on them, such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania which no longer existed at that time, but now have been resurrected.
I was brought up in Toronto, a very boring city when I was young. I read a lot of books on circumnavigators and was fascinated with the sea and travel. But my biggest fascination was maps and atlases. I didn’t see the sea till I was about 12. I have now been lucky enough to cross the Atlantic and also the Pacific on 37 and 38 foot sailboats, and to sail all around the Caribbean on my own catamaran. I am now finished with boats and the sea and maps and sit and watch the cardinals, bluejays and robins in my backyard around my birdfeeder. I enjoy flowers but don’t know the names of a lot of them. I also get the odd bunny out there but coyotes mean they don’t last long. I also though bins might help you to see better in your garden. Maybe see if you can borrow a pair to try out.
Before moving to Cornwall I lived in Leicestershire villages, also a flat county with many footpaths through the fields. I was always fascinated by the hares which I often saw on my walks. Often, there would be a pair of hares, sitting up, facing each other, jaws moving. looking as though they were enjoying a conversation. Then they would stare as my Collie and I approached along the path before returning to their 'conversation' and only moving if we continued walking. My Collie was quite un-nerved when those hares didn't run away and he stuck very close to me to protect him!
I have 2 pottery hares in my living room as a reminder.
I love plants and flowers but I can never keep track of their names. And I am not very good at growing them! But I do enjoy them when I see them!
Pat, how about a scope of the kind bird watchers use? Placed on a tripod it would easier to hold steady than binoculars. Love to hear about your daily activities.
Genie
Rambler - lucky you - intereting that they didn't seem afraid of you.
What lovely stories you tell about your fascinations. Thank you everyone.
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