On Sunday, the second anniversary of my Dad's passing, I went walking in the Lake District with Ruth, a longtime friend of my Aunty Angela. It had snowed heavily in the night, leaving a winter wonderland to play in. The sun was shining, the snow clung to the branches and the tops of the dry stone walls like frosting on a cake! We parked the car in a little village called Grasmere, home of the famous 18th century poet, William Wordsworth and headed out for a walk around the lake and up into the hills around it. I was so happy to be in the snow as it reminded me of home and we had a lovely day in the fresh air, stopping several times to enjoy the views and take photos. It was one of those perfect winter days when you just feel happy to be alive. Later, we had a wander through Wordsworth's home - Dove Cottage, where he lived with his wife and children and a couple of spinster sisters (single women were not allowed to live on their own in those days). It was a perfect day.
I leave you with a poem by William Wordsworth:
Composed By The Side Of Grasmere Lake 1806
CLOUDS, lingering yet, extend in solid bars
Through the grey west; and lo! these waters, steeled
By breezeless air to smoothest polish, yield
A vivid repetition of the stars;
Jove, Venus, and the ruddy crest of Mars
Amid his fellows beauteously revealed
At happy distance from earth's groaning field,
Where ruthless mortals wage incessant wars.
Is it a mirror?--or the nether Sphere
Opening to view the abyss in which she feeds
Her own calm fires?--But list! a voice is near;
Great Pan himself low-whispering through the reeds,
'Be thankful, thou; for, if unholy deeds
Ravage the world, tranquillity is here!'
---William Wordsworth
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