As we so often do at this time of year, my friend Isha and I went for a walk first thing this morning. It was about half past six and we went for a short half-hour wander through the fields and down by the river. As we set off, my mind was occupied with thoughts of what I needed to get done today – work, e-mails, food shopping, booking the car in for a service – all the sorts of stuff that propels us through the busy daily routine of life. So on I went, head down and staring at the grass in front of me while my brain whirred with all sorts of busy internal conversations.
Walking down the hill and through the next gateway, my thoughts were stopped in their tracks by the overwhelming scent of lime blossom. It’s one of my favourite things in the world, beautiful in its own right but also bringing associations of warm spring days and the end of winter. All thoughts of work and life’s busyness went from my head as I inhaled the fragrance. Next to the lime tree was a large clump of wild garlic, its flowerheads a nodding wave of Persil whiteness (other brands of washing powder are available!) and I thought about the distinct aroma that they would soon be adding to the mix. While my nose was busy taking up these delights, I saw some primroses dotted in the grass, in amongst scattered flowering spikes of cuckoo flower, and thought how beautiful the delicate pale yellow of the primroses next to the pink-blushed white of the cuckoo flower was. Looking up, I took in all the different shades of fresh green that the trees and newly emerging wild flowers were sporting. Adding to this sensory mix was the call of so many different species of birds. Although it was getting past the peak of dawn chorus, I could still hear chaffinch, great tit, blackbird, song thrush, willow warbler, chiff chaff, wood pigeon, a cuckoo in the distance, a dipper on the river beside us, and a curlew flying overhead, all these just in the space of a few short minutes and all against the backdrop of the sound of the River Tees making its way past.
