Nature

So, welcome to Summer.  Despite the South African view of England as a land of rain and grey clouds, it is at its very best when the sun shines and the countryside is bursting with blooms, blossoms and birds; lovely green arches made of Oak and Horse Chestnut trees, butterflies flitting around traditional 'English Country Gardens' .... it really is beautiful.

And it brings to mind the cycle of life and our own (human) place in this world of ours.  Like the plants and the insects, us humans have our time - our Spring, when we're just emerging like juicy little shoots, drinking up the life-giving sap and Summer, this glorious stage when we're full of colour, life bursting out of every available space.

Then Autumn, when we're supposed to enjoy the 'Autumn of our lives' - all golds, browns, oranges, reds, ... full of flavour and richness; and Winter, our final years when things slow down, life becomes so much harder and eventually flowers shrivel up and die, dropping off to enrich the soil for future generations...!

My Mum, like so many other mothers, is finely attuned to Nature's glorious cycles - she is a gardener with green fingers, able to grow almost anything, given some time, a pot and sufficient water and sunshine...!

And, as you have seen, my love of animals came from her.


One of my favourite drawings of hers is this study of a small, blue bird.  It is wonderfully intricate yet simple - something that only someone who has really studied birds could do.  She instils trust in them, so they are comfortable in her presence and therefore she is able to sit, study and draw them...!

This drawing is also special because it reminds me of a phrase that was made popular by (I think) the Goons, during their very popular radio comedy shows .... "the Bluebird of Happiness" ..!

During the past few weeks I have had conversations with two very good friends of mine, both single mothers and both have a daughter in late teens/early 20's.  Both have announced that they are pregnant...!  So, both Mums were in shock, worried how this momentous event will affect their daughters lives and how will they get through such a huge blow to the lives they had imagined for them.

I am genuinely aware of the feelings that this 'surprise' generates, but with the benefit of age and (hopefully) some wisdom, I can see past these concerns - and I am truly happy for both of my friends - and their respective daughters.

I know the rules of political correctness and I understand the importance of women being able to choose an education, a career and stay 'in control of their own bodies'.  However, I also know that, between late teens and late 20's, a woman's body is at its peak in terms of falling pregnant and giving birth.  It's their Spring ... as Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote:



"In the Spring a fuller crimson comes upon the robin's breast;
In the Spring the wanton lapwing gets himself another crest;

In the Spring a livelier iris changes on the burnish'd dove;
In the Spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love."


Both my friends are magnificent women; strong, caring, loving, family-minded and extremely talented (in different ways).  Their daughters, as I have seen, are very much like their Mums - and that is no bad thing.

I shall watch, with interest, amusement and no small measure of love, as they embark on another wonderful journey with their respective daughters and their own, unique journeys ... with all the trials, tribulations, fun, love and laughter that go with it (not to mention the baby clothes shopping sprees....).

And I promise not to use the term 'Granny' ...

..... much!