As spring starts to burst forth it is always a pleasure to see nature wake. The signs are easy to recognise, the blossom on the trees, the birds more visible and making their wonderful conversation and the dawn chorus is louder and earlier. The surfacing of creatures that seem to hide or hibernate during the cold weather. The smells in the fresh air.
I was passing a tree the other day that had this wonderful ‘pussy willow’ proudly displaying. The catkins are initially grey and then burst into yellow when ripe with pollen – as in this case. I stopped to enjoy and look at the tree; some of the catkins were still grey and so soft to touch. While I was taking a few moments out to savoir the real start of spring, and take a picture, this delightful bee joined me. I almost felt elbowed out of the way – the bee was clearly on a mission to collect nectar and I was not going to get in the way. It was so lovely to see the bee busy collecting nectar and also getting covered in the pollen. It may not be easy to see in the picture but there is a lot of the pollen over the bee.
This was a reminder that whilst I may have been a casual observer, this bee has business to attend to. I too was on my way to take action with something I am working on, and soon enough I was on my way again – with a wide smile.
I lived in the country for a major part of my life, and had willow trees running along the banks of a stream in one of the gardens – often a perfect place and vantage point for kingfisher to sit and wait for their lunch to swim past. It was not until I looked up the picture I had taken that I realised that this tree is called Goat Willow, or to give the scientific name Salix Caprea.
Strange how such a simple stop, as I walked past some blossom, has lead to a chain of thoughts, and a little research has added to the joy of the moment.
Often, it is the ‘simple’ things that give us joy – yet in my last article I did make the point that what may look simple is often hugely complex. It is often the simple things that give us a new perspective. It is often the simple question that can create important change.
As I walked on after my encounter with the blossom and bee it made me wonder about a few things:
• Am I productively busy with my time? Clearly the bee was.
• The subtle blossom on the willow is not flamboyant yet it was collecting the attention from the bees it looked to attract – am I attracting the right type of attention?
• Am I focussing, or like the bee – landing on the right thing?
Some powerful questions that made me think and make some adjustments on what I am aiming to achieve.
Now are you asking questions to help you reach your destination? I do hope so, if you need a hand let me know.
My good wishes,
Peter
