I do love the Dawn Chorus, really

Joey Jones14 Comments

I took one for the team today. Well, for my immediate neighbourhood, anyway. 4.40am and a young family of blackbirds were hungry. Their relentless protests were never going to cease until someone helped the parents sort it

It’s the rent we pay for living in this beautiful world ( however hard man tries to feck it up)!

So, clad in only summer nightwear attire and winter boots….(Yes, dressed in the dark syndrome) I ventured out with my box of tricks.

Dried mealworms went into a shallow dish of water ( to help things along with the little ones) Some cheap mixed seed which seems to thrive and grow amongst the gravel. Old  ( but no green spots involved- that’s a killer- one spot of green means the whole batch is shot!)  bread rolls I hated. Suet sprinkles, they’ll only eat at a push, a cut up apple, some grapes and a few piles of porridge oats. It took about ten minutes to sort the breakfast banquet and another ten for the madness of the dawn chorus to settle. But they did

I reckon by 5am peace was restored. I climbed back into bed and then the dog showed an interest in going out. Great!

‘Time keeps on slipping into the future … ‘ ðŸŽµ

Joey Jones4 Comments

Do you remember your favorite book from childhood?

A favourite series of books of mine were The Famous Five by English writer Enid Blyton ( 1897-1968) Her books were best sellers around the world since the 1930’s.

                                    Leisure

What is this life if, full of care

   We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs,

   And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

   Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

   Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,

   And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can,

   Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this, if, full of care,

   We have no time to stand and stare.

                 By W.H. Davies, pub 1911.

‘ Time keeps on slipping into the future’ is taken from the album Fly Like an Eagle by the Steve Miller Band. Released in 1976.

  

Desert Island Library

Joey Jones1 Comment

List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

These three books have stayed with me since first reading them a lifetime ago. They would make perfect companions to be reread, should the stranded on a desert island scenario ever occur.

The Prophet by Kalil Gibran ( 1883-1931) This Lebanese/American poet and writer had this work published in 1923. The twenty six philosophical essay/prose poems over twenty eight chapters tell of sprawling topics including life, love, freedom, humanity, pain and passion. A truly spiritual and inspirational read.

Experiments with the Truth, is the autobiography penned by the Indian and London educated lawyer known as Mahatma Gandhi ( 1869-1948). He writes of the successes and failures of non-violent resistance. Suffering hardships and imprisonment for his beliefs. Mr Gandhi who was assassinated in 1948. He never forgot the principles of truth.

A Thousand Years of Solitude was penned by Colombian writer and journalist Gabriel Garcia. Martinez ( (1927-2014). His book covers seven generations of a family as they wade through the inevitable repetition of history in Latin America. The magical realism woven in here with experiences of being a journalist makes this an ideal Tome to have with you on a desert island, as each page is crammed full of detail to absorb and think about for a long time to come afterwards. You may even feel the need to read it over and over to truly capture its essence.

Arachnophobia

Joey Jones14 Comments

What fears have you overcome and how?

Many many moons ago I visited Bhaktivedanta Manor, the Hare Krishna temple in Watford. On one wall was a black and white drawing of a person out in the natural world accompanied by various animals..creatures. At the heart of each inclusion in the picture was a small white light. I got it. I understood.

‘ Spiders – so needed and yet so misunderstood ‘~Donna Lynn Hope

Patches

Joey Jones8 Comments

Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.

Walking my dog on the beach. Seeing him in his element brings great joy to my life.

                       Black Cherries

Late in May as the light lengthens

towards summer the young goldfinches

flutter down through the day for the first time

to find themselves among fallen petals

cradling their day’s colours in the day’s shadows

of the garden beside the old house

after a cold spring with no rain

not a sound comes from the empty village

as I stand eating the black cherries

from the loaded branches above me

saying to myself Remember this

W. S Merwin 1927~2019

The Tide Rises the Tide Falls

Joey Jones6 Comments

What jobs have you had?…… and when the work is over

The tide rises, the tide falls,

The twilight darkness, the curlew calls;

Along the sea-sands damp and brown

The traveller hastens towards the town,

   And the tide rises, the tide falls.

Darkness settles on roofs and walls,

But the sea, the sea in darkness calls;

The little waves, with their soft, white hands,

Efface the footprints in the sand,

   And the tide rises, the tide falls.

The morning breaks; the steed in their stalls,

Stamp and neigh, as the holster calls,

The day returns, but never more

Returns the traveller to the shore,

   And the tide rises, the tide falls.

                             ***************

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~ 1807-1882

Shouldn’t the essence of any god be love?

Joey Jones5 Comments

Do you practice religion?

Love and tolerance seems to me to be two of the strong foundations for any religion and yet differences manage to spark unease.

My parents were agnostic ( on the fence 😂 just -in-case kind of people) So that left me plenty of wriggle room.

In a former life I was a hippie which pretty much screams pacifist from the off. ‘ Give peace a chance’. Who could possibly disagree with that?

Jehovah Witnesses constantly get a bad press, but to give them their due they flatly refuse to join the armed forces. Staying neutral in world conflicts.

Today I embrace Paganism ( with a slice of the promoted compassion of Buddhism, thrown in for good measure)

No, I don’t practice witchy things or have an altar in my home, but out in the wild I fully recognise the power of nature. I appreciate and respect the strength of the elements and believe every creature has the right to live here safely. If we can assist them in any way the better the world would be for them. Coexistence is a wonderful thing.

Gratitude and respect for planet Earth is surely non-negotiable?

And tell me…..If you don’t believe in anything, where do your thanks go?

Life before the internet

Joey Jones4 Comments

Do you remember life before the internet?

I remember…..

Newpaper sellers

Family evenings around the TV

Satchels full of books

Children playing outside

Mail on the door mat

Busy high streets

No empty shops

Multiple shoe shops

Less commercial vehicles

Stereo players and albums

Commuters

Busy city nightlife

Telephone boxes

Photograph albums and negatives

Paper road maps

Dictionaries, encyclopedias, reference books

Diaries( With a lock)

Calendar in every home

Address books

Cheques

Pay packets

Money boxes

Travel agents

Hard copy CV’s

Telephone text

Monthly glossy magazines

Hairstyle magazines

VHS Videos

Camcorders

Walkman

Typewriters

and all those things which have slipped my mind.