Tuesday 19 December 2017

Nurtured by Nature

Hello Friends!

You all know that I love where I live, and I feel deeply blessed to be where I am. There is a deep and ancient spirituality to the land, which you cannot fail to feel; open your heart and your spirit, throw open wide your welcoming arms, and it will softly ooze into every corner of your being, connecting you on levels you have never known before. Everything surrounding you is alive with special energy as it sparkles and glimmers with ancient magic, from the pre~dawn of time.  Significant Ley Lines run nearby, and evidence of ancient settlements are at every turn, if you know what to look for. 

This is a land shaped by the forces nature long before man came along and turned it to his design by his own hand.  This is a land where coastal inlets and caves are carved out by the relentless pounding of the Atlantic Ocean.  This is a land where small streams carve out small but beautiful valleys as they run to greet the ocean  This is a land where the mighty westerly winds that whip without end dictate and shape what grows in the fertile soil of the land.

After a walk on a rare and wonderfully warm and windless mid December day, I rested, quietly, on a special, handcrafted, slate seat set into an old Pembrokeshire stone hedge.  I let my spirit drink deeply from the draught offered to my parched and hungry soul. As I sipped from the never ending well of universal energy, I was nourished and restored by all that surrounded me as I sat in peaceful contentment and awe.


The sun was as strong as it could possibly be for the time of year, as it slips slowly closer to the horizon each passing day, with the Winter Solstice just days away, soon it will be starting its long uphill climb, rising slowly higher each day as the light returns and the circle of the year unfolds once more to bring the Summer Solstice; and so the world turns ~~~

I sat, at first, in silence and with closed eyes, but then the magic unfurled to disclose the unseen. The sun, although pale, shone through my closed eyes and lit up the dark behind my eyelids; a distant gull raucously cawed from a high vantage point; closer by more and more birds joined in the chorus; soon I was hearing birdsong all around. The waves, just a few yards away, out of sight, below the high cliff, lapped languorously, for with no wind there was no urgency, but my ears, now sharpening to the sounds of nature, picked up the quiet lap, lap, lap as barely an effort was made.  The bay is seldom seen so calm ~~~


~~~but the fields are almost always so lushly verdant green, for we have a lot of rain! Indeed we do!

I opened my eyes as I sat and observed: small tussocks of dying grass, mounds like graves in honour of the dying year, were all around my feet ~~~


and as I watched those mouldering mounds, with newly opened eyes, I saw life springing all around!  The clear, clean air was full of tiny gnats, swarming and swimming around in the warm afternoon; the finest of gossamer threads, silver, spider parachutes spread, flying out, glimmering and shimmering, catching the pale light of sun, as spiderlings fly to seek out new homes; and all the while the birds still sing and the water gently laps the shore.

One thing I love at this time of year is seeing the bare, leafless trees, the structure on which all the other seasons are built. We have some special shaped trees all along the coast, sculpted by the {usually} relentless westerly winds. If you are ever uncertain which way is west, look at the trees! Their west facing sides are clipped by nature, giving a very lopsided look! Of course, you have to know that the prevailing winds are the westerlies that romp and rage in from the wide Atlantic Ocean, or this doesn't work!

Here are a few such trees, some much more pronounced than others depending on how sheltered they are ~~~






This one does not like the salt water at all, for you can see the greenery burned by the salt laden winds ~~~


This stand of trees always captures my imagination, it has done since I was a child, for it looks like a giant wave of trees sweeping over the land, shaped and flowing in from the wild western seas ~~~


Slowly, yet all too quickly, the sun slipped lower, and lower; the soft, pastel shaded clouds coloured the coming sky of evening told me it was time to turn and wend my way home once more, while the sun gave one last shimmer across the cold, grey bay ~~~



On my way home, some friendly horses say "Hello!" I think they might be hoping for a carrot or a juicy apple! Sadly, I had nothing to offer them.



Until next time ~~~
Deborah xo

29 comments:

  1. What a beautiful place, you are so blessed and your writing is also beautiful. Made me feel like I was there with you. Merry Christmas! From Michigan.

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    1. Why, thank you Peggy. I'm wondering, do I recognise 'Peggy from Michigan' from Susan Branch's blog? Nadolig Llawen ~~~Deb in Wales!

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  2. Deb, you have a gift with words, my friend! Thank you for your perfect description of all that surrounded you. I too love sitting quietly in nature and feel renewed. You are lucky to live so close to such beauty. I'm so happy it's not wasted on you!
    Happy Christmas to you, dear one. xoxo ♥

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    1. Thank you, Martha Ellen ~ no, it is not lost on me. I can even remember the place I was standing, aged just seventeen, and not your 'average' teenager, thinking how lucky I was to live in such a place, and feeling sorry for my friends who just hung out in cafes {let's not say bars} that they had no appreciation for the land.
      Nadolig Llawen to You and Yours from Wales xoxo

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  3. Yes, you do have a gift with words and make us feel we are right next to you feeling everything you are! And your photos...breathtaking. The trees are so beautiful in their skeleton forms. The leaves hide so much during the Spring and Autumn. Now to see their true shapes. And how the winds twist them so.

    As I have said before, you tempt me to give up my woods for your sacred land. But not just yet. :-)

    Love and hugs,
    Darlene

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    1. Hello my Dear Friend ~ thank you for your kind words. Ah, I would never ask you to give up your land, for it is as ancient and sacred in it's own ways, and I long to visit it with you as my guide one day.
      Nadolig Llawen! Deb xoxo

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  4. Thank you for you beautiful words. We spent a few days in Pembrokeshire in November and we loved it so much we have booked again for the first week in January. We live in Norfolk, which has its own kind of beauty, but I always feel more at home in the hills. Blessed Be

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    1. Thank you, Lesley. I think Pembrokeshire is at it best from October to March, when you have it all to yourself and can see the wild heart of it. Norfolk has it's own special beauty too, as does so much of Britain. Enjoy your next visit!

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  5. Such beautiful photos and words - I felt as though I was there with you sharing your experience and being renewed by nature. Thank you.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, and for your lovely blog too!

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  6. Hello, my friend! You have such a wonderful way with words and your photos are beautiful, as always. Thank you for sharing little pieces of your world with us! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year! Across the sea hugs ~ Donna E.

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    1. Well hello! Lovely to see you here today, my friend, and thank you for your kind words. ~~~Deb Across the Sea!

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  7. Lovely words to go with your lovely images.

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  8. Every photo looks so pretty. I want to climb inside those photos and walk around.

    Kristin

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  9. Ahhh there's no better spiritual guidance than that of natures :)
    XO Ellen from Ask Away
    www.askawayblog.com

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  10. What a beautiful place you live in, it looks quite enchanted.

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    1. Thank you, Sarah, yes, it is indeed enchanted.

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  11. hi dear, I'm your new follower. Your words are very poetic, I love where you live, Thank you for sharing

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    1. Thank you for you kind words and follow!

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    2. Barbara Becker6 March 2018 at 15:12

      We follow each other on Twitter thanks to @dearsusanbranch. I so enjoy your vivid and thought provoking tweets! I've finally taken time to read your blog and only regret not having done so sooner! Your ability to share the depth and beauty of your beloved home place is exquisite. Your spirit shines through your words! Thank you for sharing it.

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    3. Thank you, that is a such a lovely thing to say.

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  12. Just wondering if all is OK with you over there in the west?

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    1. Thank you, Sue ~ I do have personal reasons for not blogging right now, and also an ailing laptop. I’ll be back sometime, not sure when though.

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  13. missing your posts...hope all is well.

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    1. Thank you. Sadly, not, though. I just want to hit 'stop' on 2018 and 'rewind' to before last Christmas. I should be back soon, I hope.

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  14. Such a lovely description of nature and your surroundings... I truly enjoyed the peaceful journey..Thank You for sharing.

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