Sunday 30 March 2014

Don't bother to tell the birds.

Spring is officially here, the clocks have gone forward one hour, British Summertime has arrived but the sun has decided to give us a miss today, although I think he is shining forth further down the country.

None of this matters to the wildlife.   In the holly hedge we have just seen a long tailed tit with a beak full of nesting material; in the fields the call of the curlew is everywhere; on the beck - oh joy of joys - the marsh marigolds are out.   The farmer climbed the barbed wire fence into the plantain to take these two photographs for me. The marsh marigold/kingcup/ water blob is my favourite of all the flowers of Spring (closely followed by the cuckoo flower/milkmaid which follows on in a few weeks).

There comes that day - and it has arrived - when, regardless of the weather at the time, Spring has taken over.

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How different it is living in the countryside to living in the town.   When I lived in Wolverhampton, where we lived for almost eighteen years, I knew only my immediate neighbours.   Here, in rural Yorkshire, although we live well out of the village, we know virtually everyone, either personally or through perhaps one intermediary.  Not being out at work all day helps, as does the monthly coffee morning in the village hall.

Some folk hate this life style, saying that you really can't sneeze without the whole village knowing you have got a cold. (I am reminded of Mrs Rachel Lynde in ' Anne of Green Gables ', who sat at her window all day knitting dishcloths and not missing a thing.
On the other hand, there are many times when this 'closeness' is so important.

A long-standing member of the village community has passed away this week and within a day or so everyone knew, everyone will be passing on their sympathy to the grieving widow, giving her their support and letting her know that we care.   That is what village life is all about.

When I was widowed, after only three years of living in the village, in 1991, someone did the washing of the sheets during the last few weeks when I nursed my husband at home, someone else popped round with a home-baked cake, a neighbouring farmer would call with sticks chopped ready to light the fire.   That support was what kept me going over a difficult time.

There is a support system, albeit informal, in villages and I for one am really pleased to be part of such a community.

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8 comments:

Willow said...

Your support system sounds beautiful ~ I love county people and country life.

Cloudia said...

You are an ambassador of the countryside!
Alwasys a worthy visit

Aloha

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

The icy rain has just changed to snow here. Everyone in our lovely little village has decided to have a good group groan.

Heather said...

Your marsh marigolds are the real thing - mine in our pond came from the garden centre! Lovely nonetheless. I agree with you on village life and always wanted to get back to living in a village. We managed it for a few years before having to move again.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

I love the marsh marigolds, too, but they are becoming rarer and rarer around here in north east Ohio......

Your descriptions of country life show a world living up to what it should be. Heartening to read about it.

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Oh the flowers are so lovely. What a wonderful welcome to spring.

And how lucky to have the small town feeling where you live. There's not a lot of that in the US anymore - too many businesses have moved out of the small towns - people are forced to drive miles to do most anything if they live out of the cities. We live in a city of over 82,000 people - and it is a rare occasion if we see anyone we know when we go to town. I'd like it to be different - but that is how it is.

Of course we have our group of friends and family - but it is not the same as the very small town we came from - but I wouldn't trade it for anything - since our grandsons are here.

Cro Magnon said...

Little birds here are busying themselves with beaks-full of grass and feathers, some very big bumble bees seem to have awoken from their over-wintering and are flying around INSIDE THE HOUSE, and I've heard the Hoopoes calling to each other. Yup, Spring is here too.

thelma said...

Lovely post, and thank you for reminding me about the marsh marigold, such a rare sight nowadays.