healingwords: poetry for the soul

The Riu Bullent as it flows past the Muntanyeta in the Marjal in Pego. This river system links to the canals that feed the rice paddies in the Marjal. It was close to flooding after the recent storms but was back to its tranquil flow this week.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved

I love watching the birds at the Marjal marshes near Pego. The rice paddies and the rivers and canals that feed them are home to many water birds, including egrets, herons and more recently ibis. I rarely catch the herons and egrets feeding, more often than not they are standing still, perched on one leg, like statues in the marsh, flapping into the sky when disturbed. Today they were wading the flooded fields, pecking in the mud with spiked beaks.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

The wind blowing across the explosion of fluffy reed in the Marjal marshes near Pego reminded me of the waves on the sea. The light hazed over the golden brush and the scene looked like a classical painting. Every time I visit the marshes they look different, as the seasons turn and the vegetation changes. Soon the rice paddies will be planted and the muddy earth will turn green with shoots of rice.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.  

Everyday I come across some new, amazing example of the natural world. This plant had sprung from nowhere since I last walked in the Marjal (Pego marshes). It looked alien against the swaying rushes, the red stems and spiky fruit forming a shocking contrast to the marsh of green.  © 2019 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.