healingwords: poetry for the soul

This is the discarded root from the tree chopped into logs on the hillside. It was one that was leaning dangerously from the crumbling bank and I guess it was no longer safe for people using the track but it still hurt to see the roots discarded. 

In the few minutes I watched this hole in an earthen bank a long trail of ants scrambled in, all moving around the larger insect in the entrance. I was left imagining the whole community of perhaps thousands of ants organising their colony, fetching food, rearing young, living a complete ant life that we are mostly totally unaware of. 

Here is an amazing example of nature's incredible capacity for propagating life. It always cheers me to see tiny weeds breaking through concrete, trees hanging on to sheer cliff faces battered by winds.  Here these tiny succulents are colonising bare rock, with only a sprinkling of pine needles softening the hard stone. They looked like a minature grove of trees, their bright green leaves drawing the eye. 

This butterfly flitted around me on the hillside path but refused to sit still with its beautiful wings open. I am interested in the contrast between its closed wings, when it was almost perfectly camouflaged and its open winged display. At rest on the path it was hard to spot, thus hard to catch for a predator, whilst its bright red and gold flecked wings are designed to attract a mate.  

This is the view this morning from the hillsides of El Carrascal, over the Vall de Pop towards the Mediterranean. It was a beautiful morning, full of birdsong, gentle sun before the heat built, wild flowers marking the path in shades of gold, purple blues and pinks. An exhilarating walk.

Today I am reminded of the importance of simple things and how this world health crisis is making us rethink what we really need in life. I am grateful for the unconditional love of my family and friends who make my life worth living.

These brilliant yellow flowers on the verges around the countryside terraces and fields were buzzing with insects. The stamens reminded me of a birds nest with the open, squawking mouths of tiny fledgings waiting to be fed. 

I came across this beautiful cat on a roof terrace of an empty house in Pego. This was obviously her place, she seemed at once serene and in charge of her place.  © 2020 Jacqueline Knight Cotterill.  All rights reserved.