Artist

Alexander Averin

Friday 5 September 2008

Home




My home, my hearth. Spot the angels?

Dear Diary,


I've posted this poem before but make no apologies, I love it so.



I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

William Butler Yeats


I’ll try to keep it short; these blogs have been rather lengthy of late. Bear with me; I sometimes get carried away.

Yesterday I was confined to bed, stricken with a 12-hour migraine and couldn’t go to work. Shame as I love my job.

The weather today is dark and wet, wet, wet. But I feel better.

A positive blog is called for.

Especially needed don’t you think as after the last blog posting where I tried to redress a balance by pointing out the downsides of country living? It was so negative. Ugh! It seemed to ring bells with a few others though.

But now for the good news:

As I lay in bed yesterday in the recovery phase, weak but pain-free, I got to thinking. A kind of epiphany overcame me. A political one.. All my past blogs probably say it all and I don’t need to elaborate on the joys of living here. My joy usually overfloweth. What I did realise though was that probably all the ‘negatives’ mentioned in that post, apart from the weather, were in our hands - we humans could change these downsides easily, I realised it was a political thing. Isn’t everything?

But back to what I love. Where do I start?

There is no sense of rush, no sense of fear or even a touch of suspicion. Everyone smiles at each other and says ‘Hello’ whether they know the person or not. You don’t feel guilty talking to children. No-one is out to impress anyone else with their latest acquisition/status symbol. There is no class distinction. There are so many interesting characters around, locals and incomers alike who all have their own interesting stories to tell.

OK so it’s not my beloved Ireland but it is as beautiful and poetry is all around us. All that’s missing here is the sea.

We do travel miles to shop/get anywhere but thanks to the Internet we are able to do less driving and shop online - the speed and the efficiency of the delivery service is fantastic. Can I also hand a bouquet to the Post Office for what excellent value for money their service provides and everything is delivered daily with a smile too. And when we do have to take to the roads each journey is a treat for the soul with heavenly views changing around each bend and if, like me, you are a cloud-watcher, there is no better place to live. The roads are well maintained and practically empty. My own ‘B’ road links two ‘A’ roads, is eight miles long and I always say it is one of the most scenic routes in Wales. Mountains, hills; water is never far away as well with our rivers, streams and waterfalls. Our air is like nectar.

We have the best of neighbours, we think of them as family. We have made special friends who we love. There is a lot going on and plenty to see, places to explore. It is easy to find solitude and walk for miles without seeing a soul.

So far we have (some) small schools remaining, long may it be so.

We have an excellent library service (I am not paid to say that).

We have a fighting community.

The sense of community is strong and everyone cares for everyone else. We are all touched by others’ misfortune and made happy by their joys..

We have our wonderful Air Ambulance who I cannot praise highly enough, I owe my life to them and also to the ‘ordinary’ ambulance service. (God bless them both).

And speaking personally I have good health (usually!), a wonderful part-time job (close to home) and both of my children and of course the grandchildren, live close by.

There is wildlife in abundance, birds–a-plenty. And my dogs and my cat say they love it too!

Here's Molly giving me healing yesterday.




And here's a young heron by our river.





Our own green valley is special, it wraps itself around us, our little cottage nestles on the banks of its pure river, it carries a sense of peace within it.  I feel safe. I feel connected.

Two 'angels' in the hearth.



At night when I walk outside and the skies are clear, I can see the Moon, the stars and the planets and I am at one with the Heavens.

The Welsh say ‘Hiraeth’.

What more can I say?

I love it.

It’s my home.

Bye for now,
God Bless,
Go mbeannai Dia duit.
Cait

15 comments:

Tess Kincaid said...

Cait, your heath and angels are so charming!! And I am absolutely nutty about the Yeats poem. Hope you're feeling better today. x o

Frances said...

Well Cait, you've charmed us again with this lovely post.

Delightful!

I am very glad you are feeling better, and that you had that healer on site. I used to get migraine headaches sometimes on days just before a lot of rain was due. Maybe yours are similarly triggered?

xo

Kim said...

Glad you're feeling better. That Molly is beautiful.

I know what it is to love where you live. You say it so beautifully.

Pat Posner said...

Another lovely post, Cait, lovely cat, too.
I hope the migraine's now completely gone - they're horrible things.

mountainear said...

I feel much the same about the part of the world we live in - its pluses far outweigh the disadvantages as far as I'm concerned.

A lovely thoughtful post.

Cait O'Connor said...

Just as I finished this post this morning we were struck by serious flash flooding, I will post photos asap.

Elizabeth Musgrave said...

Lovely post and I do feel very much like this about living here too. hope the flood does not do too much damage.

Elizabethd said...

Lovely Cait, a real treat to read.
Have you tried Feverfew for migraines?

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Ah, that's the poem I want read at my funeral! Not that I'm planning one for the next 100 years or so.

I will say that I have had migraines for the last 25 years, so I do so feel for you. Mine are much, much better now, but they are truly things sent from the underworld to plague the human race!

I understand the love/hate relationship with where one lives. Don't forget, we've had Mr. Bush to deal with for 8 years now and that has been no picnic.

Good weekend to you!

bradan said...

That poem was a favourite of my Mam's.
Indeed, Cait the advantages far outweigh the negatives, your place sounds wonderful. We are lucky here in that it is similar to Ireland, the Gaelic, the music etc.

Beannachd Dia dhuit. x

abcd said...

A wonderful post, I share your feelings of connection to where I live. Love the poem and your hearth!

Pondside said...

Beautiful post, Cait.
I'm so sorry that you've been ill, and are now faced with flooding. I hope there's not been too much damage to roads and property in your slice of heaven.

Tess Kincaid said...

Cait! I have a little something for you at Willow Manor...come on over! :)

DAB said...

Great poem Cait. Hope you haven't been hit by the flooding. Take care TFx

CAMILLA said...

Hello Cait,

A lovely post, and I have always had a fondness for YEATS poems, love that poem.

Wonderful pictures, and the woodburner looks so cosy, we have ordered some logs, and have ours going at the moment, so snug.

Sympathies to you Cait, with all that flash flooding to your post above, but I can still see why you love it so despite the rising of water. Hoping for more dry weather to come for you Cait.

xx