A long, long time ago now I went travelling around Australia with my friend Jess. We bought a station wagon big enough for us to sleep in the back, pulling into little roadside parking places in the depths of the bush where the skies were absolutely freckled with stars, and making camp, very often meeting others doing the same, sharing stories, campfires and tips about what to see and where. We managed almost a half circuit of the entire country before the car finally came to rest via a massive shunt up the behind half way up the west coast, forcing us to abandon it (responsibly!) and hitch a ride on a beautiful sail boat up the rest of the coast. Poor us…
The thing about living like that, and in such a place, is that it puts you in the path of wonders: turtles laying eggs in soft sand at your feet, sparkling moonlit sea paths, bonfires on beaches, those unbelievable night skies. I remember looking out at the turquoise sea somewhere up the west coast one day and thinking ‘every single day something kind of miraculous just comes our way’. I was well aware of the temporary nature of this, that it wouldn’t last forever, and that once the travelling was over and I was home and settled into normal life, these things would be rarer, and so it has proved.
Well this week kind of felt a bit like those times.
This is our weekly post in which we chart the seasons as they pass, week by week, making note of the things that we did/smelt/saw/baked etc…that felt particularly ‘this week in the year’. In this way we track the seasons, in their minutiae, and make it all into a bigger picture at the end of each month. I tell you my ‘this week’ thing and then you tell me yours, in the comments.
And here’s mine:
Wonders
On Friday night my son convinced me to go out to look for the northern lights. I was reluctant. We had all been out for dinner for my birthday, sitting outside on our buzzy, summery local high street eating delicious Indian street food and drinking beer. I was already tucked up in bed, and we live not too far from central Bristol, which is possibly more southerly and with a less clear sky than any aurora has been seen before. It felt exceedingly unlikely and I was cosy and tired, but I also didn’t want to stamp on his enthusiasm so I put a cardi over my nightie and pulled my wellies on and we walked up to the park.
And we saw it. It was right there, above our heads, in the park at the top of our road.
It seems mad now that I know SO MUCH about auroras and photographing them, but we didn’t really take any pictures, not believing that they would come out. We just stood and laughed and pointed out the colours and hugged, and I said ‘THANK YOU for getting me out!’ lots of times. I cried a tiny bit. I saw a shooting star too. My son at one point said ‘I feel like I should take one picture’ and took the above shot, and it was only when we got home and looked at it that we saw that it had actually captured what we had seen, and were amazed.
You will have seen better pictures, and most probably taken some, but this was ours and it still makes me well up a bit.
So, wonders. And then on top of that there were those beautifully warm days and nights, and swifts flying and screeching, and golden meadows of buttercups and canopies of soft new oak leaves and honestly, I have just felt quite filled up, quite spilling over with it all.
What a beautiful week.
That’s all from me, and I’m sure it’s plenty, so over to you. Have you caught any of this magic? What have you noticed/done/spotted/made this week that felt particularly ‘this week’?
Please leave your comments below.
Seeing the northern lights on your birthday is the best, most special gift! You must feel very blessed from the experience…
We buried our kitty's ashes along our garden path last weekend. I feel more tied to this small plot of land than I ever thought possible and my garden feels even more sacred now.