19:40 ...i walk through 'the dark wood' and stop to look at a chestnut tree already in flower - and already many white petals have fallen. All the trees are in leaf now and some of the long grass is already mown.
...after meandering in dense woodland i pass a tall red chestnut from which many red petals have also fallen to the ground...
...i've climbed a low hillock to experience the first sunlight i've seen today... it's illuminating a copper beech and several large insects that are flying below it... close beside me are some long uncut grasses (some with green seeds) and blackberries already in bud.
...now i'm here i longer feel like an invalid and am so glad to be among the trees and in the wet wind...
...i see now (as i sit waiting for a train) that my good health is a gift or a consequence of walking, most days, beneath clouds, among trees, and by water... indoor life is a deprivation (adapted to it as we are)... but there are far too many of us now for full-time outdoor living to be resumed... i'm one of the lucky ones... but it's not just luck - to come here as often as i do takes time, and effort, and a determination to live within a short distance.
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© 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 john chris jonesIf you wish to reproduce any of this text commercially please send a copyright permission request to jcj at publicwriting.net