Wednesday 14 November 2012

And the land waits with us


It is fully the season of decay. We've passed through the mellowness of late summer, the splendour of mid-autumn and arrived at the gate of winter. The trees are almost bare, a few fluttering leaves cling to otherwise empty branches. The ground is mud and mulch, waterproof shoes are no longer optional. Smoke spirals upwards from houses where the inhabitants of these valleys shut out the growing darkness and seek comfort in hearth and home.









Evenings are long and daylight scarce. The night-time frolics of Hallowe'en and Bonfire Night have been and gone. We make our peace with the months ahead. In these dark days we plan for the return of the light. We sow our seeds and nurture them, turning them over in our minds, watching them grow in our dreams, ready for the first licks of a clean spring wind.







We walk. To remind us that the land waits with us, to smell the rot and taste the damp. To feel the solidity beneath the soil, the great vastness of the earth under our feet. In this dark womb roots gather goodness to feed the growth of the future. We are supported, we are nourished.



4 comments:

Alice said...

simply beautiful...

sustainablemum said...

Lovely words and beautiful pictures.

Selina Gough said...

Thank you both so much. It felt good to write.

Anonymous said...

Great to read your words and see the pics too! I started blogging a while ago but have been slack of late. I enjoyed this piece as I connect with the feelings around winter and turning inwards at this time. I blogged about the midwinter here in Oz so it's nice to see someone else has similar associations as me! Mine are at deepfield.wordpress.com I look forward to reading more you have a great ability to express a mood and experience in words! From Lisa Spencer (Hodgson)