“A wise old owl lived in an oak.The more he saw, the less he spoke.The less he spoke, the more he heard.
Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?”
(Maybe you could add a few appropriate extra verses);
“…an old bird, world weary but watchful from her ( his) branch…” ,stories were told and truths were exposed, turns out that wise old Owl did “…have a moment of wellington boot wisdom…” but alas, was unable to leave his perch, for he lamented the day he wore Welles and was unable to take flight with such a burdensome load. Many years later the locals learned it was the Buzzard who started the rumor, and from that day forward, Owls and Buzzards were no longer friends.
So many wonderful stories interconnected.
I want to sit in a circle , you in the center; I’m raising my hand , ‘ooh pick me’ , you point in my direction then kindly let me know beforehand that I am allowed only one question. Deflated with a sigh; Susie, tell me about the lavender and thyme infusion, the fluorine mines, “a potato, a dozen nibbled pumpkin seeds and two razor shells… “ Oh, and what kind of cake? I never did say I would follow the rules, I have so many, too many questions to ask.
First, I would be much obliged if you could spare a piece of cake, possibly a plate and a napkin , please. ( With the two of us in the same story, it always starts or ends with cake).
And maybe a tiny vial of ‘lavender and thyme infusion’
Ok, my story would start with;
‘Once upon a time, ( has a nice ring to it, but alas, this story is true) way up high in a kingdom of white where Evergreen bows lie low and heavy with snow . Where winter winds and three silken black Ravens devilishly play…
To be continued another evening under a black velvet , snow flaked sky, a warm fire, and another piece of cake.
It is always a joy to read your words—layered stories told round a fire, each delicious question glowing brighter than the next!
First, let me tell you: the lavender and thyme infusion was brewed with a patience that only still mornings can give. A whisper of the hills, a hint of sun-warmed herbs. But alas, the fluorine mines? They sit quiet now, full of echoes, but once, oh once, they sang with the clinks and calls of workers beneath the earth. Only in summer can the chink, chink of hammer on stone be heard ringing around the valley... illegal prospectors arrive in their hoards for a chance to walk away with their holdalls filled with the precious fluorine.
And the potato, the pumpkin seeds, and two razor shells? A curious recipe indeed, with no chef bold enough to claim it—perhaps the owls could settle that mystery. Or the buzzards, though their rumors have surely caused enough mischief already.
Now, cake—ah, cake. Gooey chocolate, naturally. Still warm and sweet, cut into uneven slices because who can wait for perfection when such dark rich goodness is waiting?
But you’ve placed me in the center of this imagined circle, and I feel the weight of wisdom I have not yet earned. If I could only pick one question (as fair rules insist), I might choose this: What story would you tell, sitting in this circle, your words weaving among ours?
I hope you enjoyed freshly baked cake and a good book Susie after your wandering rambles. I also baked a cake this last weekend for the family to enjoy as we all slowed down on a rainy cosy Sunday. ❤️
Mine was a rich and gooey chocolate affair Jo, warm and delicious and the perfect remedy for a truly bleak evening, what do you think, is there any other way on a rainy Sunday! ♥️x
Oh yes - "January has honed its fine and artful dragging out of the days to utter perfection this year" - Christmas was a thousand years ago. I am a bear. Leave me to hibernate in peace.
Oh, and yes - "I find three of strangest possible natural objects lodged at the base of a tree in the forest, a potato, a dozen nibbled pumpkin seeds and two razor shells… " - don't even pretend that's not the fairies that take me hand in hand through the forest to the waters and the wild.
Oh, and one more thing - a gracious Thank You my friend. I am honoured 🙏🏽.
It is fascinating Betty, but try as I might I can find so little information relating to the running of it, meaning I can only guess at the usage of all the buildings and mechanical and relics that line the valley path. As for the mines themselves, there are still hoards of gemologists and geologists who camp (illegally) in the forest in summer and spend a week with pneumatic drills and rock breakers and explosives in order to find the fluorine. Apparently it is the second most popular area in France (so I'm told by those that do) for digging. I fear eventually the paths will be closed entirely if they continue.
I've just received a message from my a work colleague, who I've been in class with all week that she's tested positive for flu and will be off until Monday; my work load has just doubled which means so will the exhaustion, if I manage to stave off the germs it will be a miracle! x
Oh how I long to escape to the valley and attempt to climb trees in my wellies while searching for rocks and wishing for conversations with bats. I’m thankful that at least, I can in spirit, join you vicariously and watch the heron take flight and we can both be smirked at by a ragamuffin buzzard. We can show him together what these old birds can do. Thank you always, for transporting me. Sending love 💛✨
When I return Emily I will let you know, we will attempt the climb together, although I do suggest you bring your best tree climbing footwear because the wellies just don't hack it!
When we get to the top we will both have a word with that bolshy old buzzard and show him just how too old birds should great a kindred soul and maybe, just maybe, the heron will join us, show us how to be always elegant and give a little moral support!
I hope the week is smiling at you - thank you always xx
Alas I have never been elegant and I doubt that even the heron would be able to teach me! Although I think I could teach the buzzard a thing or two about bolshiness! I look forward to our climb Susie. Looking forward to the weekend and the inspiration and creativity it brings. Xx
I read this gorgeous letter while curled into the corner of the sofa, my cat’s warm backend plopped heavily onto my reading arm. Your words and his weight sunk me further into now and I’ve come out the other side refreshed, grateful. Your “un-events” shimmer with the kind of aliveness that don’t need “eventful” to claim their significance. Beauty simply is. And you, my friend, point the way. ❤️
It has been a rare moment this week when I haven't thought of sinking into a cosy chair with Grey Puss purring on my lap, the fire roaring inside while the wind copycats the sound beyond the door, an even rarer moment when its actually happened which makes each sigh as I do one of absolute gratitude that something so simple as time, to read and smile at kind comments, even exists.
Bless you for being one who fills that sigh dear Kimberly. ♥️x
I went back again to the oak tree, but there were hunters everywhere I looked, so left as fast as possible!
My colleague has just messaged me to say she has flu and won’t be back until Monday Jan, it will be a miracle if I avoid it although I’ve been taking every preventative remedy I have so I will stay positive! I hope you have avoided the worst of the terrible storms? x
Susie, I can so relate to this passage: "Of course this is highly presumptuous when I know the truth is simply that it is I that miss our conversations, it is I that miss the birdsong spilling from their branches, soft mossy bases and whispered leaf stories. It is I that is failing without their support."
The weather has been too cold to get out much in the past week or so and today, though warmer, the winds were blowing. I've spent more time indoors by choice this past month than I care to. I feel I am missing the birdsong, the trees, the sounds and feel of nature.
Thank you for this wonderful post, that totally nurtured my heart and soul. xo
I think perhaps January is the very worst month of the year for this awful ‘cabin-feverish’ feeling Pamela, we have been lucky too with the weather excepting these last few days, but despite the sunshine many have just been too cold for aimless wandering and if we are accustomed to such a pastime, as you and are evidently are, we are left feeling almost bereft… its hard to explain in words because it copes from within but its there and its a heaviness that adds yet more weight to already loaded days… spring is not so far though! Stay strong and focused lovely lady, we can do this! x
Thank you Susie. Not getting out to wander is the worst and it’s been a very cold January here. It has not helped getting covid at Christmas and then all else that followed it. Soon we will have warmth and sun for all! I cannot wait! Let us make a plan to met in the liminal spaces of the ether and share a walk one day!
Sneering buzzards, belligerent pigeons and hide n seek bats! And a wellied wordsmith. Stay safe. May the grippe not take a grip of you. Wonderful words. X
Many thanks Barrie, so far so good although its taking every positive vibe to remain so, dropping like flies comes to mind! I hope your week is a merry one, if un peu humide!
"I return each evening trapped in a body in need of fresh air, silence, my woodland and the hill, with few minutes of daylight left to do so and as much energy as the frozen caterpillars I find on the kale!"
Susie, We are living parallel lives! I feel like a mole who comes blinking out from my hole after a 10 hour work day. Holding on for springtime's later sunsets!
Ann I feel for you especially, my job is not so often this demanding but I fear yours is, though I do not deny, even on a normal day springtime hours - and later sunsets - would be welcomed. Nothing ever seems to be taken slowly anymore... everything in great gulps in case the opportunity doesn't arise again for days, it is an exhausting existence.
Take care of you - I hope the week ahead is surprisingly kind to you!
An amusing thought of you trying to clamber up the tree in a pair of wellies! Hope you manage to perch in it eventually when wearing more suitable footwear. If so please write about the experience! Stay cosy in the storm!
I'm with Linda! I look forward to a story about your trip to the top of that tree. In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoyed this: "“You can laugh you old ragamuffin” I mumble to the buzzard so blatantly sneering at my debatable agility. He doesn’t move a muscle but I can tell he’s smirking, he is, after all, perched already on his high branch of charme."
Apologies Sarah, we lost power just as I posted my reply!
I'll begin again... so where was I? Oh yes, adorned in the best grippy footwear I retuned to the tree, whereupon I find the entire forest swarming with hunters and dogs and guns so I hightail it out again before any of these young gun swinging bucks mistook me for something worth practicing their aim on! Not without a few choice words I might add... another day perhaps?
Thanks so much for reading, the storm fizzled to nothing before it really began - for which I was very grateful though it hasn't stopped rain since!
Many thanks Linda, I have a habit of wearing the wrong footwear! Next time I will go prepared and possibly take with me a rescue team just in case, I returned this afternoon with my all singing all dancing, utterly hideous but totally magic trainers only to find the valley swarming with hunters!
One day, but not this one either, I will post a photo from the top of that fallen oak!
Beautiful!!
Well, I couldn’t help but think if this poem,
A Wise Old Owl~ (1883, author undetermined)
“A wise old owl lived in an oak.The more he saw, the less he spoke.The less he spoke, the more he heard.
Why can’t we all be like that wise old bird?”
(Maybe you could add a few appropriate extra verses);
“…an old bird, world weary but watchful from her ( his) branch…” ,stories were told and truths were exposed, turns out that wise old Owl did “…have a moment of wellington boot wisdom…” but alas, was unable to leave his perch, for he lamented the day he wore Welles and was unable to take flight with such a burdensome load. Many years later the locals learned it was the Buzzard who started the rumor, and from that day forward, Owls and Buzzards were no longer friends.
So many wonderful stories interconnected.
I want to sit in a circle , you in the center; I’m raising my hand , ‘ooh pick me’ , you point in my direction then kindly let me know beforehand that I am allowed only one question. Deflated with a sigh; Susie, tell me about the lavender and thyme infusion, the fluorine mines, “a potato, a dozen nibbled pumpkin seeds and two razor shells… “ Oh, and what kind of cake? I never did say I would follow the rules, I have so many, too many questions to ask.
“With simple vagabond intentions”,
Yours Truly,
Me
First, I would be much obliged if you could spare a piece of cake, possibly a plate and a napkin , please. ( With the two of us in the same story, it always starts or ends with cake).
And maybe a tiny vial of ‘lavender and thyme infusion’
Ok, my story would start with;
‘Once upon a time, ( has a nice ring to it, but alas, this story is true) way up high in a kingdom of white where Evergreen bows lie low and heavy with snow . Where winter winds and three silken black Ravens devilishly play…
To be continued another evening under a black velvet , snow flaked sky, a warm fire, and another piece of cake.
From a simple kindred vagabond ,
Me
Dear You,
It is always a joy to read your words—layered stories told round a fire, each delicious question glowing brighter than the next!
First, let me tell you: the lavender and thyme infusion was brewed with a patience that only still mornings can give. A whisper of the hills, a hint of sun-warmed herbs. But alas, the fluorine mines? They sit quiet now, full of echoes, but once, oh once, they sang with the clinks and calls of workers beneath the earth. Only in summer can the chink, chink of hammer on stone be heard ringing around the valley... illegal prospectors arrive in their hoards for a chance to walk away with their holdalls filled with the precious fluorine.
And the potato, the pumpkin seeds, and two razor shells? A curious recipe indeed, with no chef bold enough to claim it—perhaps the owls could settle that mystery. Or the buzzards, though their rumors have surely caused enough mischief already.
Now, cake—ah, cake. Gooey chocolate, naturally. Still warm and sweet, cut into uneven slices because who can wait for perfection when such dark rich goodness is waiting?
But you’ve placed me in the center of this imagined circle, and I feel the weight of wisdom I have not yet earned. If I could only pick one question (as fair rules insist), I might choose this: What story would you tell, sitting in this circle, your words weaving among ours?
With simple vagabond gratitude, Me x
I hope you enjoyed freshly baked cake and a good book Susie after your wandering rambles. I also baked a cake this last weekend for the family to enjoy as we all slowed down on a rainy cosy Sunday. ❤️
Mine was a rich and gooey chocolate affair Jo, warm and delicious and the perfect remedy for a truly bleak evening, what do you think, is there any other way on a rainy Sunday! ♥️x
Yum!! xx
Oh yes - "January has honed its fine and artful dragging out of the days to utter perfection this year" - Christmas was a thousand years ago. I am a bear. Leave me to hibernate in peace.
Oh, and yes - "I find three of strangest possible natural objects lodged at the base of a tree in the forest, a potato, a dozen nibbled pumpkin seeds and two razor shells… " - don't even pretend that's not the fairies that take me hand in hand through the forest to the waters and the wild.
Oh, and one more thing - a gracious Thank You my friend. I am honoured 🙏🏽.
Three days... the bear can relax! February is close enough to touch!
"For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
from a world more full of weeping than he
can understand."
https://open.substack.com/pub/ahillandi/p/words-of-another?r=1mrn9s&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
My favourite poem from childhood... and the only one I remember word for word, probably tells you all you need to know!
Those off finds are still baffling me, we are over four ours from any sea or ocean here, razor shells? I think they will remain an enigma!
You're welcome Jonathan, I am itching to read part two, you left us clinging to a cliff edge!
And you've got The Waterboys link. Of course you have :) Such a gorgeous song. I could listen to it forever.
Part 2 only a few steps away...
Ahh.. another Waterboys fan, I too should perhaps have guessed! 🎶
That mine area sounds fascinating. I had to look up what flourine was, though. Not very good on my rocks and minerals, I'm afraid.
Fingers crossed that you escape the flu. I had to go to the DDT the other day and saw employees wearing masks...
It is fascinating Betty, but try as I might I can find so little information relating to the running of it, meaning I can only guess at the usage of all the buildings and mechanical and relics that line the valley path. As for the mines themselves, there are still hoards of gemologists and geologists who camp (illegally) in the forest in summer and spend a week with pneumatic drills and rock breakers and explosives in order to find the fluorine. Apparently it is the second most popular area in France (so I'm told by those that do) for digging. I fear eventually the paths will be closed entirely if they continue.
I've just received a message from my a work colleague, who I've been in class with all week that she's tested positive for flu and will be off until Monday; my work load has just doubled which means so will the exhaustion, if I manage to stave off the germs it will be a miracle! x
Oh my heavens, hoping you stay well! We are not that exposed in our workplace, just the two of us with occasional appointments.
As for the gem mines, it would warrant a trip to the Archives...really fascinating!
Oh how I long to escape to the valley and attempt to climb trees in my wellies while searching for rocks and wishing for conversations with bats. I’m thankful that at least, I can in spirit, join you vicariously and watch the heron take flight and we can both be smirked at by a ragamuffin buzzard. We can show him together what these old birds can do. Thank you always, for transporting me. Sending love 💛✨
When I return Emily I will let you know, we will attempt the climb together, although I do suggest you bring your best tree climbing footwear because the wellies just don't hack it!
When we get to the top we will both have a word with that bolshy old buzzard and show him just how too old birds should great a kindred soul and maybe, just maybe, the heron will join us, show us how to be always elegant and give a little moral support!
I hope the week is smiling at you - thank you always xx
Alas I have never been elegant and I doubt that even the heron would be able to teach me! Although I think I could teach the buzzard a thing or two about bolshiness! I look forward to our climb Susie. Looking forward to the weekend and the inspiration and creativity it brings. Xx
I always imagine everything so clearly when I read your work. Even the smells!
Thanks Deirdre, maybe I should try and mass produce the scents!
I would love it!
I read this gorgeous letter while curled into the corner of the sofa, my cat’s warm backend plopped heavily onto my reading arm. Your words and his weight sunk me further into now and I’ve come out the other side refreshed, grateful. Your “un-events” shimmer with the kind of aliveness that don’t need “eventful” to claim their significance. Beauty simply is. And you, my friend, point the way. ❤️
It has been a rare moment this week when I haven't thought of sinking into a cosy chair with Grey Puss purring on my lap, the fire roaring inside while the wind copycats the sound beyond the door, an even rarer moment when its actually happened which makes each sigh as I do one of absolute gratitude that something so simple as time, to read and smile at kind comments, even exists.
Bless you for being one who fills that sigh dear Kimberly. ♥️x
Hope you make it to the top of the oak and stay safe from flu!
I went back again to the oak tree, but there were hunters everywhere I looked, so left as fast as possible!
My colleague has just messaged me to say she has flu and won’t be back until Monday Jan, it will be a miracle if I avoid it although I’ve been taking every preventative remedy I have so I will stay positive! I hope you have avoided the worst of the terrible storms? x
Susie, I can so relate to this passage: "Of course this is highly presumptuous when I know the truth is simply that it is I that miss our conversations, it is I that miss the birdsong spilling from their branches, soft mossy bases and whispered leaf stories. It is I that is failing without their support."
The weather has been too cold to get out much in the past week or so and today, though warmer, the winds were blowing. I've spent more time indoors by choice this past month than I care to. I feel I am missing the birdsong, the trees, the sounds and feel of nature.
Thank you for this wonderful post, that totally nurtured my heart and soul. xo
I think perhaps January is the very worst month of the year for this awful ‘cabin-feverish’ feeling Pamela, we have been lucky too with the weather excepting these last few days, but despite the sunshine many have just been too cold for aimless wandering and if we are accustomed to such a pastime, as you and are evidently are, we are left feeling almost bereft… its hard to explain in words because it copes from within but its there and its a heaviness that adds yet more weight to already loaded days… spring is not so far though! Stay strong and focused lovely lady, we can do this! x
Thank you Susie. Not getting out to wander is the worst and it’s been a very cold January here. It has not helped getting covid at Christmas and then all else that followed it. Soon we will have warmth and sun for all! I cannot wait! Let us make a plan to met in the liminal spaces of the ether and share a walk one day!
Sneering buzzards, belligerent pigeons and hide n seek bats! And a wellied wordsmith. Stay safe. May the grippe not take a grip of you. Wonderful words. X
Many thanks Barrie, so far so good although its taking every positive vibe to remain so, dropping like flies comes to mind! I hope your week is a merry one, if un peu humide!
"I return each evening trapped in a body in need of fresh air, silence, my woodland and the hill, with few minutes of daylight left to do so and as much energy as the frozen caterpillars I find on the kale!"
Susie, We are living parallel lives! I feel like a mole who comes blinking out from my hole after a 10 hour work day. Holding on for springtime's later sunsets!
Ann I feel for you especially, my job is not so often this demanding but I fear yours is, though I do not deny, even on a normal day springtime hours - and later sunsets - would be welcomed. Nothing ever seems to be taken slowly anymore... everything in great gulps in case the opportunity doesn't arise again for days, it is an exhausting existence.
Take care of you - I hope the week ahead is surprisingly kind to you!
Thank you, Susie. To you as well!
Love your writing. Stay well!
Many thanks for reading Leah, may your week be a kind one!
An amusing thought of you trying to clamber up the tree in a pair of wellies! Hope you manage to perch in it eventually when wearing more suitable footwear. If so please write about the experience! Stay cosy in the storm!
I'm with Linda! I look forward to a story about your trip to the top of that tree. In the meantime, I thoroughly enjoyed this: "“You can laugh you old ragamuffin” I mumble to the buzzard so blatantly sneering at my debatable agility. He doesn’t move a muscle but I can tell he’s smirking, he is, after all, perched already on his high branch of charme."
Stay safe in the storm!
Apologies Sarah, we lost power just as I posted my reply!
I'll begin again... so where was I? Oh yes, adorned in the best grippy footwear I retuned to the tree, whereupon I find the entire forest swarming with hunters and dogs and guns so I hightail it out again before any of these young gun swinging bucks mistook me for something worth practicing their aim on! Not without a few choice words I might add... another day perhaps?
Thanks so much for reading, the storm fizzled to nothing before it really began - for which I was very grateful though it hasn't stopped rain since!
I hope your weather is being more gracious!
Many thanks Linda, I have a habit of wearing the wrong footwear! Next time I will go prepared and possibly take with me a rescue team just in case, I returned this afternoon with my all singing all dancing, utterly hideous but totally magic trainers only to find the valley swarming with hunters!
One day, but not this one either, I will post a photo from the top of that fallen oak!
I will look forward to that!
Me too!!