Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention
Be astonished
Tell about it
Mary Oliver
For this week’s Lens Artist Challenge, Beth asks us to show shots of what has astonished us, and takes her inspiration from this short poem by Mary Oliver.
For some reason, my mind was drawn back to Lockdown. For us, Daily Exercise was one of the pleasures of that peculiar time. Country dwellers, we could range freely over our home patch without meeting a soul. And here, it happened to be a wonderful spring, where plants, birds and all life could flourish in balmy temperatures and just the right amount of rain.
Walking by myself down deserted paths – M was exploring on his bike – I discovered Wonder and Astonishment anew. Day by day, I could watch leaves unfurl from tightly-bound buds; flowers appear; lambs totter their first hesitant steps.
I had the leisure to enjoy the intricately-designed feathers of a common-or-garden mallard, or the complexity of dandelion petals.
Best of all, creatures we rarely saw close up crossed my path. Who expects to stumble by a toad on a riverside stroll? Or, best of all, come across shy curlews nesting within a foot of a normally well-used road across the moors.
Skies, undefaced by plane trails seemed more multi-faceted and interesting. And back home, day after day, hour after hour, from dawn until darkness, this thrush gave an apparently unending performance with almost no breaks.
Such a time of loneliness, grief and isolation for many remains in my memory a period of joy in the rediscovery of the astonishment offered by the countryside just outside our front door.
From Pyrenees to Pennines 
I guess it’s still there, Margaret, if you allocate the time to it. We did something similar but over time the repetition jarred with me, though I was delighted by it to begin with. We are only just returning to some of those paths now and recognising old treasures. I try to stay grateful that we have them xx
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I made it my challenge to do a different walk every single day. Obviously it often included bits and pieces of well-walked paths, but I was surprised at how many new places to explore I found in an area I thought I knew quite well.
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Fabulous photo gallery, Margaret
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Thanks Sheree.
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The joy of spring… I can so relate to it. I am always taken by it – great take on the topic
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Thanks Ritva!
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My lockdown spring was just like this. Awe and astonishment everywhere, with the disarming background of fear and uncertainty and worry for vulnerable loved ones. It was a unique time.
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A good collection of things seen that you seen to notice more when time is on your side
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The lambkins are adorable. The toad is not but I still like it. Totally great choices!
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Wonderful astonishment! Nature manages to fold leaves and petals so intricately and unfold them without a blemish, and yet we humans find it impossible to fold a fitted sheet!
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Living in a city our lockdown walks were more restricted than yours but nevertheless I recognise that sense of discovering the small things and wonderful details in nature, helped by that wonderful spring weather!
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Margaret, how lucky you are to live in a place where you had such an abundance of natural wonders to discover. I agree. There is so much to astonish us in nature. Thank you for responding to the challenge with your wonderful images.
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Your photos are perfectly synchronized with Mary Oliver’s point 🙂
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Excellent post, Margaret, and I think being a Country Mouse served you well at Lockdown. I, too, recognise that sense of discovering the small things and wonderful details in nature, having access to some rural areas.
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