Lessons from a Spaniel: : Faithfulness

I love the faithfulness of dogs.

If we had half the amount of loyalty that they had, we would all surely be in a better place.

Spring is here (at least I hope!)

The last of the snowdrops

Crocuses

Baby daffodils

Morning dew on the grass (pic thanks to my bro)

Daffodil (opened overnight)

Spring looks as if it finally arriving. Fingers crossed.

Who knows what this weather will do one day to the next! Yesterday was raining.

Today the sun is shining.

My bro's birthday today, so he and I went for a walk this morning and I took some pics of the lovely looking spring flowers.

It's amazing how overnight the daffodils can open their sleepy eyes and then droop their yellow heads. One can actually begin to hope that warmer weather and longer days are on the horizon!

One can live in hope.

Farewell

Whilst at uni today, I saw a funeral for a local soldier, and paused for a minute. Seeing it really brought a lump to my throat and an ache to my heart. The Armed Forces and soldiers has always been a topic that is really close to my heart, but seeing a farewell to a local boy brought it that much closer to home. Hearing the gun salute was pretty emotional. When I finished my lecture and went back outside, everything - funeral, people, TV cameras - were gone. If I had not seen the funeral earlier, I would never have known anything had gone on in that spot. And it makes me think how many of these guys sacrifice their lives and die heroes, and so little people know what they actually go through and what they have done. It takes me back to the guys in WWI and II, and I think that if they had not fought as they had, we would be living in a very different world.

The funeral inspired me to write this, not just for Sapper Mellors, but for every other soldier as well:

As the final gunshot rings in his ears, it is the first of many sequences that will be set off.

The shouts. The explosion. The frenzy that breaks out amongst the watching. Comrades dragging him to safety. The examination. The proclamation. The death.

The mother watching from the window. The car pulls up. Heart stops. Doorbell rings. Words exchanged.

"I'm sorry ma'am."

A white gloved hand holds out the letter. The shocked silence. The grief. The wrenching sobs. The heart crying 'It can't be so!' The head saying 'He's gone', and knowing that somehow it's true.

A mother loses a son. Something inside her dies. No comfort.

The body flown in. The flag draped over. A country's pride. A country mourns. Comrades carry the body. Graven faces and open emotions. More than comrades. Friends. Brothers. A piece of them is missing.

Family and friends start to cry. The body is laid down. Words are said. Mother kisses the coffin, lays a rose and smooths the flag. The flag that called her son to arms. The flag is folded and handed to his mother. Final honours of red, white and blue.

Soldiers stand to attention. Silence.

Take arms. Fire.

Silence.

Take arms. Fire.

Silence.

Take arms. Fire.

Farewell.

More snow...

Frozen water

Skye in the snow. Something in her goes crazy!

Footprints in the snow

Snow after melting snow from the trees fell

Skye

Winter wonderland.

The day the world stood still...

....Well ok not the world. Just my little corner of the world. We have been having a really freak winter with so much snow. Well it snowed again tonight. And everything came to a standstill. It took me an hour to make what is usually a 7 minute journey. Cars were standing still on the motorway. We did not move. The roads have become so slippery because a) the gritters ran out of grit or b) the gritters gave up trying to grit the road! It is somewhat frustrating the way this seems to happen whenever we have snow. It has been very hard for me to choose a pic today. So many to choose from! In the end I went for this pic I took of a tree (obviously) and the sky was a cool colour, and the snowflakes stood out because of the flash. I do love snow though. It never fails to amaze me how incredible everywhere looks. The snow brings a different picture. I love how the trees look almost delicate with the snow covering their bare branches, and how the sky is so light because of the snow. Amazing.

Snow tree.

Traffic standing still on the motorway

Cars turning around to avoid traffic on the motorway

Blue snow.

Last day of the season....

"Shooting is not just about the bag at the end of the day, but also the enduring memories created by the best shot you have ever taken, the jovial chat amongst friends, the fine countryside and the conviction that a good day in the field is second to nothing else".

The end of the season is upon us. Shooting is coming to an end for another year. Today (the last day) was beaters' day. This is where the beaters have a chance to shoot, and the guns do the beating! All but four of the beaters shot, and the rest of us, well, beat! I chose not to shoot as I have not shot for over a year and had wanted to get in some practise on the clays, but as this did not happen, I opted not to shoot today. And whilst I did regret this choice later on, it was still good fun beating with the guns, whom we don't usually mix with a lot. They are really nice bunch of guys (and ladies), and it's great that most of them turn up for beaters' day to give something back to the beaters. After all, if it wasn't for us, they wouldn't have any birds to shoot!!

We had perfect weather today. Blue skies, no wind, and a stronger-than-usual winter sun. It was the perfect day to finish the season with. Although the birds did let us down- I think we ended with 46 birds, a very small bag. None of them wanted to show their faces! They're the lucky ones - they will live to see another year.

After we had finished the morning's shooting, we all (beaters and guns alike) headed over to the shooting lodge where we ended the last day with a buffet lunch.

It was a really good last day, and although I don't want the season to end now, walking through the woods today I noticed bluebell shoots starting to poke their way through the fallen leaves. Spring will soon be upon us, and with that, the season must come to an end.

The mountain and the path

So lately I've been feeling like my life is a mess, that it has no direction, and that I haven't a clue what I am doing! So it's a good things God does!!

I spoke to a friend yesterday and talking to her it sounds like she pretty much knows what she wants to do, and has her life kinda sorted. Listening to her tell me her ideas and plans kinda made me a bit jealous and sad that my life isn't that well laid out before me. Most of the time I am following a path that is in the dark and constantly twisting and winding, and going up constant hills!

But when I was thinking over it again this morning, I suddenly didn't feel jealous or concerned anymore, cause God showed me otherwise. You see, when I left Mexico a friend gave me the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, and said that she felt it was for me. For a long time I thought that part where it speaks of not returning was me, and I was scared of it being that as I was thinking in term of not returning to Mexico; yet this morning God gave me the true meaning of the poem. The part that speaks of taking the path less travelled, and "that has made all the difference."

And all of I sudden I knew that that was the part that applies to my life. My life is the path less travelled. It has been for a long time, and I think it will continue to be for a while longer. But I think I'm ok with that. Because even though the path I am taking might be less travelled, it is going to be an adventure for me, because I am going to discover something that no one else has. Travelling the less used path doesn't have to be daunting. Yeah sure I might have to chop at the undergrowth to get through at times, but that's cool.

In the words from Hannah Montana, "Life's a climb, but the view is great."