Yesterday, we spent the afternoon at Watermead Country Park on the outskirts of Leicester City. A beautifully manmade area of reservoirs situated along the old Grand Union Canal.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about my childhood and how I spent whole days wandering off on my own to the nearby fields and rivers, no cares, no fears, exploring, collecting, dreaming and imagining...
Back in those days the countryside was for everyone to share and discover their own piece of nature...
Remembering the silly games played with my friends, climbing trees, picking wild flowers and foraging for blackberries...
We knew what each flower was, the exciting changes that happened throughout the seasons, which was best for pretty fairies floating through the air...
Some that feel soft and fluffy, the ones too prickly to touch, ...
But pretty to look at...
Old fashioned recipes you hear your Grandmother tell stories of, elderberry cordial, dandelion and burdock soda, nettle soup, apple and blackberry crumble...
Picking daisies...
Picking posies of little flowers, all the colours of the rainbow, taken home in muddy little hands for Mummy to put in a little glass on the kitchen window sill...
Some things we would eat, knowing they weren't tasty, but fun to try, peeling, picking, hulling, reaping, harvesting, just to see what was inside...
Seeing the perfection in nature, the patterns of twists and spirals, stars and fountains...
Soft buzzing of bees and tiny winged insects, the only music in the air floating along on the breeze...
Feeding ducks...
Some things for playing tricks with and keeping as treasure...
Beauty of the most precious kind, would stop with us for a while, whilst the rain fell or the sun shone...
**********
Moments I remember from my memories are now moments that we will share together...
...and we will be a part of her memories, a part of the nature we have explored together.
***
Whether Leaves and Grass and Meadow Flowers,
or
Coconuts, fragrant Frangipani Flowers, Jackfruit and Mangoes...
Her memories of childhood will be full too with the wonders of nature.
3 comments:
Breathtaking photos and beautiful words. Thank you.
I hadn't thought about those childhood things like finding old fruit trees abandoned by a ruin and tasting the best apples ever. Lovely to see you showing your daughter these things and letting her discover the feel of nature.
Beautiful photos, Emma. Absolutely stunning.
My daughter really misses the ease at which we could get out into nature back in Norway. These days we have to drive somewhere but back there it was always just a short walk from our doorstep, regardless of where we lived. I miss that too. The peace and tranquility of being at one with our natural surroundings is so good for the soul.
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