Flowers

Walking past the florist's shop
a call behind caused me to stop
and turn around to find 
the florist rushing up,
a bunch of flowers in hand.

She held them out to me and said
"excuse me, would you like these?" 
 I looked into her eyes, amazed.
"Really?" I replied. 
"I can't sell them in the shop you see,
they have opened up too much.
Do take them, please."

I took them from her outstretched hand.
"Thank you very much," I said, 
"that's very kind," I smiled, delighted,
as she turned and walked away.
She had made my day.

Advertisement

Solstice Blessings

"The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers,
but for the wide world's joy."

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Parallel Lives

What do the birds know of lockdown,
or the bees of social distancing?
Flowers have no cares about gathering
in groups of more than two or three.
See them all rejoice in their
innocent parallel lives.

Such Joy

So the shelves are bare
but…
how the sun shines,
the birds sing,
the flowers bloom;
such joy to share.

Busy Bees

The bees are busy
feeding while flowers still bloom.
Autumn approaches.

Spring

Spring
gets in the swing of things;
flowers and blossoms bloom,
birds sing
and trees gradually re-green.

Autumn

See how the summer flowers fade,
see how the skies turn grey,
see how the berries ripen red
and leaves more golden every day.
See how the seasons turn and change
as autumn comes our way.

Well Dressing

Last Saturday, 1st July, a village near where I live in Staffordshire held its biannual Well Dressing. This custom was revived in 2012. The second local event was held a year later in 2013 and since then it has been held with a two-year gap, in 2015 and again this year.

The custom of well dressing is believed to have its roots in pagan times when the local community would decorate and bless the wells to give thanks to the gods for clean water. Some people believe that, rather than being a pagan custom it stems from the time of the Black Death (1348) when people would give thanks, again for clean water.

Originally the ceremony was confined to one or two villages in Derbyshire Peak District in the 19th century, having been introduced in Buxton in 1840 but it has since spread to  other villages, mostly in the neighbouring counties of Staffordshire, South Yorkshire and Cheshire but it has also spread to a few villages in Shropshire and Worcestershire, as well as the village of Kemsing in Kent where it was introduced in 2011.

The Croxton event near my home celebrates a different theme on each occasion. This year it was ‘Supporting the Community’. There is a trail of about 5 wells which have been refurbished in recent years and are dressed by different organisations within the community. The main well is blessed by the vicar of the local church, linking it to Christianity for modern consumption, and there are other events and activities available on the day to celebrate the occasion, as you can see from the poster.

The  dressings are created on a board, usually a pallet filled in with clay, making them very heavy, and the are ‘coloured in’ with petals – hence the alternative name ‘well flowering’. Here is a photo of the very first Croxton well dressing (2012) at the main well and sponsored by the local Women’s Institute who are very active in encouraging the tradition to continue.

I did not manage to go along on the day but hope to follow the trail before the boards finally fade. There is a walking and cycling route established to view them so perhaps it will be out on the bike.

Roadside Daffodils

Roadside daffodils
deliberately snapped and scattered.
I gather them, fill my vases, so I at least
can enjoy their fleeting beauty.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We have some wonderful grassy areas on the corner of our road, in front of our house. At the moment these are full of daffodils. But some low-life yobs seem to take great pleasure in breaking off the flower heads, some just buds, and scattering them. I can’t bear to see them lying on the ground unable to fulfil their potential so I pick them up and put them in vases. Fortunately there are still plenty growing, but everyday more have been scattered.

Foraging

Busy bumblebee,
foraging around the flowers,
filling his panniers with pollen.