The Park

We live opposite a park and I really love it. The funny thing is that i don’t really go into the park that often, but I still love it...and I found out from the lady that we bought the house from that she felt the same way. She told me that when she put the house on the market, she had spoken to her sister about it and her sister had suggested that since she never actually walked in it, she wouldn’t miss it all. She assured me that she would miss it, and over time I have really got to understand what she meant.

One of the great things about living opposite the park is that it means that you’re not actually opposite other houses – in fact, all that’s on the opposite side of the road to our house, are trees... I have become acutely aware of the passing of the seasons as those trees unfurl their leaves in spring and shed them in the autumn. They are home to birds and squirrels in the summer and glisten with frost in the winter. Some days the trees cast ghostly shadows through the mist and there is always some sound of nature to be heard in between the hum of cars from the main road down the hill.

Last week, just for a change, I decided to take a walk in the park and was lucky enough to spot a squirrel popping its head out of hibernation as I passed small clumps of snowdrops nodding prettily in a gentle breeze. The crocuses were just starting to show some signs of colour and there were thousands of daffodils standing in tall green spikes ready to open in time for St David’s day. It was beautiful, the traffic noise seemed to be absorbed by the green of it all and it was lovely to just take a moment to chill out in green surroundings.

So, you don’t need to go into the park at all, but it’s nice to do. I decided to tell you all, just to remind myself of how nice it is and maybe to reinforce that feeling so that I get to do it more often. In this mad manic world, its special to find a little time and space to relax in....