Escape

Common Daisy (Bellis perennis) and Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)

The garden lies just outside our windows, beckoning. Branches newly furred with breaking buds toss in winds that seem destined to blow hard for weeks. Emerald green grass stretches towards the sun, regularly flattened by passing gusts. Yellow Common Primrose flowers wink above their wrinkled leaves and golden Daffodils nod in sheltered corners. Spring is coming, and it's never been more welcome. In this age of uncertainty, when life as we know it is spinning into chaos, the mindless, relentless progression of the season is something to hold on to. Everywhere new growth is pushing up through the soil, shouldering away the remnants of last year's leaves and stems. Birds are shouting challenges at each other from treetops and television aerials. Fat queen bumblebees are lumbering through the flowerbeds, searching out the new blossoms. And every morning I'm thankful that we have this half-acre to wander in — a place where, just for a few minutes, we can forget the fear and the worry and the frustration and just... be. I hope that wherever you are, you have such a place as well. And if you don't, visit us here, virtually. Together, we'll get through this.