Spring is on the way

I love daffodils.

Away With You, Wild Winter

Away with you wild winter,
We are welcoming the Spring.
Snowdrops, crocuses gleam the garden,
Sweet birds are on the wing.

Warmth of the sun’s bright beams
Swelling Life’s new growth,
Slanting rain spears softly falling
Fill flower buds, leaf buds both.

Winter-thin hedgehogs venture
Forth for fattening food,
Snouting about the burgeoning garden,
Searching in rotten wood

For insects fat and juicy
To strengthen their frail, thin blood,
To help them find their prickly mates
And bring forth plump, fresh broods.

Sing joy for advancing Springtime,
Farewell to Winter’s woe.
Hail to the whole of Creation’s wonder
And the seasons rotational flow.

MSK

An experiment

Starkness

I think cropped trees are very impressive in a grim way against the sky.

Thorpe Bay

I rather like this picture taken at Thorpe Bay, near Southend, a few years ago. It is looking towards Southend, away from Shoebury, and it has a sense of distance, I think. As far as I remember it was taken by Joe.

The way into woods at the end of our garden

Memories of Hockley When I Was a Child

I remember Hockley Woods and Beckney Woods in Essex as they were when I was a child in the 1930s, the days when I used to roam about with my friends. The Spring is on its way and before long the windflowers will be blowing in Hockley woods and everything will be glorious. Beckney Woods I recall for the gorgeous bluebells that carpeted the woodland in the May. The scent and the colour were wonderful. I hope that it is still the same.
There was an area of neglected land near Beckney, not far from Plumberow, that was a mass of wild roses, broom, and other bushes. Amongst this wild land there were the remains of abandoned chalet type buildings probably from the 1920s. Everything had run wild. I think these buildings may have been part of a scheme to provide healthful acommodation for the poor. At the top of the hill, beside the wood there was the brick foundation of a ruined bungalow or house.
On the LNER railway bank were small, wild strawberries.. My friends and I would sit on the bank watching for trains and eating the berries. They were sweet and delicious. There were not many trains but occasionally one would come puffing by and the driver would wave to us.
On some wild land on the way to Ashingdon there were wild roses that I loved. Also along the way there was an old woman living in very unsuitable accommodation. She used to shout at us children as we passed, poor old soul.
We would feast on blackberries, in the summer and hazel nuts in the hedgerows. There were sweet chestnuts in Hockley woods.
We felt as free as the air. I think parents are more afraid to let their children roam free these days. It is a shame there is more fear now.