Rain, Cycling, Birdsong and Creation

Last Sunday it rained. The beginning of almost four days of rain. I got up early and went for a walk up on Telegraph Hill. I had forgotten how un-waterproof my Barbour coat was. It rained hard. I got drenched. I love cow parsley and paths overgrown with grass, but when it is almost waist high and wet, I might just as well have waded through a river!

Despite the pouring rain, I was amazed at how many hares I saw out on the farmland, they seemed everywhere.

I stood for a while in a patch of woodland just listening to the rain in the trees. I could have stayed there for hours, but as I was cold and wet through I had to head home. I was going to take a photo of the woods inj the rain for this blog, but somehow I didn't think it would convey the whole sensory experience.

Today I was up there again, this time on my bike having just done a decent bike ride. It was mid afternooon, overcast but with just a vague hint of warmth. Whether the wind was in a funny direction, or the clouds where absorbing all the distant plane/traffic noise, but it was so quiet. Apart from the birdsong in the woods. It almost sounded like a dawn chorus, though not quite as intense.

The countryside is full of smells of field beans, barley and I am sure something else but I can't remember what. Everywhere is wet and I am sure the damp, warm sort of humid conditions bring out interesting smells. The oilseed rape and bluebells have passed over and the elderflower is just coming out. Wild roses are out in the hedgerows.

Went along to church today for about the first time this year to a different style of service they were experimenting with. I give them ten out of ten for trying something new and getting everyone to sit on the floor in the auditorium. There was a "creation" room with some cute wildlife pics, videos and a basic questionnnaire for kids to fill in. I had been asked if I would contribute and at first I wished that I had done so, but the room was small and a bit cramped and in the end, what with so much going on in other rooms about different things, I was probably glad not to have done. I should have made a creation mural for people to write/draw on; some quotes or text about how we should be looking after creation; something about how man is destroying God's creation; some sort of vision for the future; something about how creation is all around us.... the list goes on. Remind me to say yes next time I am asked! It is a matter though of balancing out preparation time with 'appreciation/participation' time.

Thank you for this day, for the freshness of the countryside, the fragrances of the landscape, the beauty of the wild roses and the abundance of growth in the garden. Inspire me this week as I journey, work and meet people. Thankyou for E and J.