Water Spirits

Another weekend of cold and bright weather. Ice on the pools along the side of the river. I sat down on the bank under the bare alder trees and watched the water rushing past. I made myself as still as a heron and had a heron dream like I was a heron spirit. I followed the spirit down into the river standing in the water.

In my water dream I went rushing down like a fish in the current and then I hid in the dark places under the bank. But heron found me and I went into heron and from heron came back into myself. Now the water spirits are my friends.

When I came back to myself I was numb with the cold and my bum was chilled from sitting on the frosty bank. I was almost too stiff to walk back to the village. In my cold cottage I just needed to get warm so I filled the bath with hot water and put some drops of essential oil of lavender in and went into the water. So the water spirits could still be with me as I soaked up the heat of the water and sighed with pleasure as my body was all wet and warm.

Now, wrapped in a cosy suit against the draughts I'm putting it  down here because it's a tale I have to tell to whoever will read this so they will know the water spirits were with me and I will remember when I come back to read this again in the future.

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Frog

I went out with the local walking group. I don't go out with them very often because I prefer to walk on my own.I like to stop and look at things rather than just walk on. It's hard when others are talking to listen to Nature.But they were going to a lake in the mountains that I had not been to before so I decided to join them.

The day was cold but clear and bright with a white frost over everything. Weather like this is unusual in Britain. The frost was thicker as we went up to the mountains. There were 'flowers' of frost coating the grass, everything glittering white in the sunshine.

The lake was covered in ice and as we did stop there for a break I moved off alone and stood by the edge for a bit. When I looked down I saw a shiny brown frog with legs spread out as if it was about to jump. But it was still. I touched it. It was completely frozen.

Later I thought that I should have taken a picture of it to put on here. I'll have to remember that for another time.

Full Moon

Coming home this evening I suddenly saw the light of the Moon through the branches of some bare trees. Then I saw the big white  round Moon herself. The disc was huge, I suppose because she was so low down and just rising. Breathtakingly beautiful.Now she doesn't look so big but is bright and silver in a clear and frosty  sky.

A Stream

Lovely bright and crisp sunny day. Had to go out to a meeting and stopped to eat a sandwich on the way in a place just off the road. I saw a stream running across the field that I didn't know was there. I could see that it was flowing into a larger stream by the road, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. There must be a spring somewhere as I'm sure there is no stream on the other side of the field where it seems to be coming from.

Going to discover where streams come from is a good thing to do. If I could find a spring that would be wonderful. I imagine myself washing my face in it, though today the water would be very cold. But the water would wash over me and I would be blessed.

Rain

Rain in the forest, it's lovely - if it's not very heavy you don't get soaked but just get the rain drifting down through the trees. I spent today in he empty woods with wet rain on my face but the rest of me wrapped up warm and dry. It's a special feeling being there in the rain - feels more elemental somehow. I sometimes fantasise about running naked through the rain though not at this time of year. But even in the summer I'd be too shy to do it. Even if I knew no-one else was about.

I'm feeling good about having this place to say things like this. Whether anyone else sees it or not.

My Woodland Glade

A sunny afternoon and I left work early to detour on the way home along a minor road and into the Forestry Commission car park leading to my special place. As usual at this time of year, there was no-one else there and I walked through the trees and down to the river with a lightness in my step as if it was Spring. There's an open glade with a seat by the river that I just sat down in and lost myself in the sound of the waters rushing past. I stayed until the light began to go. A dream way to start  the weekend.

Hamadryad Musings

As someone who prefers being outdoors and sitting under trees just trying to be 'part of the scenery' the recent weather in Britain has kept me uncomfortably indoors. So I'm turning to this as a diversion. After all the snow, I did get out a bit, but today rain has fallen solidly and this evening I made only the briefest stop in my favourite place by a woodland stream  on my way home as it was wet, misty, and the light was fading.

I'm not complaining about this (I never complain about the weather and I actually like the rain!) and in my ideal habitat I would inhabit all weathers happily among the trees of a forest. That's where I'll be most free time rather than here.But I will try to keep this up to date (it seems less trouble than Facebook) if only because there might be someone like-minded (like-souled?) enough out there to be worth exchanging words with.