Leighton Moss Meet-up 2022

Good for a mindful moment Hazel and we all need them at times. Thanks for posting this, what did we call our mindful moments before someone conjured the term up around the time of the worst of the pandemic?

Wendy S said:

what did we call our mindful moments before someone conjured the term up around the time of the worst of the pandemic?

I guess it would be something akin to using the term  "ecotherapy"   !!       I don't think anything beats absorbing yourself in the natural world around us, observing wildlife and opening our eyes and ears to everything nature has to offer us.     Simply watching birds and their behaviour when time allowed would be fascinating - often if you watched different species and the way they interacted or as individuals you could almost anticipate what they would do next .......   it was a good way to escape the troubles of the world and switch the mind to a zen state. !!   

I remember learning the poem "Leisure" by WH.Davies and my father asking me to recite it as he wrote it down in his gardening diary !

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What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare

No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows:

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance:

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began?

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

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Hence, we should all make time to stand and stare and look deeper into the beauty of the natural world surrounding us.    !!!   

Lovely words aren't they Hazy, everyone probably knows the first two lines, but not the rest maybe. I am about to print out the whole verse now and stick it up on my board in front of me for a gentle reminder.

gaynorsl said:

Lovely words aren't they Hazy,

Yes,  I've always loved those words reminding us there are beautiful creations in the natural world around us if we only took the time to look and appreciate it all.    With the current world so topsy-turvy at the moment it is good to remind ourselves there is still a lot of beauty and wonder on this planet.     If sad things happen or times of feeling down........... just step outside and allow mother nature to do its job.     Having said that I find I'm more outdoors than in at the moment.  LOL 

They are both females, so no fertile eggs. Oddly enough, Quo has never laid an egg. She is now a little over three years old. Selwyna is 9 months old, but she's the one popping out all the eggs. Because of her permanent leg injury, incubating would be an issue if she did need to do it. I replace the real eggs with fake ones, not to stop them from hatching, but to prevent breakage and subsequent mess. She has her own private basket on the top shelf, do she's able to lay and incubate in peace. Quo cannot fly, so that makes it easier for Selly when she's in egg laying mode. I will be moving the aviary across to the window and also increasing the size at some stage. They are both very friendly, but only Quo has imprinted. Having them is very therapeutic. Quo has helped me through some tough times over the past year or so. I took early retirement at the end of March, for mental health reasons. I was diagnosed as having autism and I currently find it difficult to deal with groups of people. Those who made it to LM this year will have noticed that I disappeared on my own for long periods of time. I just needed time to declutter my mind and lose myself in nature, so please don't think I was avoiding you. I find the hides rather overwhelming and although I tried a couple of times, I found it too much. Maybe next year will be easier.

Glad you made the effort to travel up to the north Paul and I'm sure it helped getting reacquainted with the robins and doing a spot of hand feeding. As has already been said, being able to absorb yourself in nature really helps both mental and physical health and I know everyone enjoyed their LM visit after almost three years living in a very different world. Once again, it was good to see you again and also our other forum friends so keep mid June in the diary for next year and we'll make sure the cafe stock up on breakfast, toasties and cake :)

Interesting to read about your pigeons MC, I kept one donkeys' ears ago as I have probably mentioned before, and they are very affectionate birds, lovely to have around. I am so glad you find that they are helping you with your current health problems and so it should be, you have helped so many in the past so it is payback time now :-)
Next year I hope to be at LM again, and hopefully you will feel easier in yourself too, we all need our own space so worry not. Just keep taking those lovely photos.

Just a couple of pics of the sky tonight, with a mist coming in from the sea across the mountains.

Sort of peaceful I feel.

Superb views Gaynor and looks very peaceful; the sky was clear here last night with a very bright moon.