Peace and quiet

So here I am, it's late. I should be getting ready for bed but words are going round and round inside my head. Life has been hectic and rather stressful recently but today there's been a lull and I've had time to actually think instead of just reacting.

Today has been a good day. As I walked out the front door I could smell spring...that particular, sweet smell of growing things I enjoy every year. Either it goes away as the year progresses or my nose just gets used to it, so I stood there breathing deeply and making the most of it. We live down a country lane with a stand of trees opposite the bungalow, fields one side of the road, some houses down the other side with fields behind. The birds were finishing off the dawn chorus and a woodpecker was tapping away in one of the taller trees.

As I drove the five miles to work there was a slight ground mist with blue skies overhead and a green haze on the trees as the leaves were making their appearance. From time to time throughout the year I stop in one of the laybys and admire the scenery; the freshness of spring, the mellowness of summer, the crispness of autumn and the snowy stretches of winter. Today was not one of those days, I would have been late for work so I drove on through the winding roads to Tetbury.

The first sign of Tetbury is the sight of the church spire over the trees and a drop down to the river before crossing the little bridge and moving up into the town. Usually I manage to park on The Green at the top of the hill but today I had to drive round looking for a parking space. I think of this as the 'Tetbury Two-step' as the early morning arrivals vie for spaces.

Work was pretty routine but lunchtime found me in one of the local cafes. The first time this year that the weather's been warm enough to sit out. There's just a door opening from the main street, no shop frontage, but you follow the corridor through to the back, past the small indoor seating area and out into a pretty walled garden. It's set on three levels with a small trickling waterfall and enough space for half a dozen tables. I sat under the magnolia tree that was in full bloom and enjoyed the occasional shower of petals as they were dislodged by a light breeze. The tourist season is just starting so there was a family from the Yorkshire Dales at one table and a Japanese lady writing in a notebook and sketching the garden at another, otherwise all was quiet and peaceful.

When I got home I managed to get a couple of hours in the vegetable garden and my new greenhouse. I planted some lavender alongside the fence to attract bees and other insects to my veggies and got in a few rows of carrot seeds, onion sets and some salad leaves.

I'm all for having a gay, abandoned time from time to time but sometimes it's nice to take life at a slower pace. I appreciate the fun all the more for the times in between.

...I started this last week and only just remembered it. I'd forgotten what a lovely day I'd had so it was nice to remind myself.