Escaping the rush hour traffic after watching the sunrise, I drove the car through narrow lanes, realising that I was following the map of memory. We passed through places to which we had walked as a family long ago, when the boys were just boys…. places where my son had walked long after he could no longer do so.
There were places where we had shared laughter with friends and people we have loved, some of them now living only in our hearts. Places where we had made memories, some seeming almost as ancient as autumn, others as fresh as spring. And as we drove, we found ourselves on higher ground where the sprinkling of snow had settled and turned the world to white.
We were lucky that the roads were reasonably clear as we climbed the hill that winds around Ivinghoe Beacon, to the modern remnant of the five-thousand-year old Ridgeway. Once it ran coast to coast, but towns and cities have broken the ancient trackway and the Beacon now marks its end.
Hoping that our luck would hold, and that we would be able to get back to the road, I risked the deep, snow-covered ice of a favourite parking spot. The view across the Vale to Dunstable Downs is usually highlighted by the white silhouette of the Whipsnade Lion carved into the chalk of the hillside. The distant hills, though, were uniformly white and beautiful in the light of the newborn sun.
Once again, I left Nick at the car to go for a short wander… although this time I did remember the boots behind my seat. The ice under the snow was far too dangerous to risk helping Nick to the gate where he had taken such momentous steps one May Day.
The shadows painted the snow in that curious shade that always has me itching for my watercolours. My mind wandered to wondering whether phthalo blue or ultramarine with just a touch of alizarin crimson would capture it best…
Then I was distracted by the mass of birds flitting through the branches and a plethora of prints in the snow.
The rabbits, deer and sheep tracks were obvious. You could see where a loner had wandered in to take shelter in the little copse, and where a number of them had gathered in a green cave beneath the boughs of a venerable holly.
There were no other human footprints, and no dogs up here… which was a real shame, as Ani would have loved it had we known the snow would be there… but I loved being able to track their movements undisturbed. One or two of them, though, I could not identify.
I loved being out there in the crisp, sparkling silence, knowing that unseen, all around me, were hidden lives. Some of them, perhaps, watching me from the shadows… others oblivious to my presence and busy with their own affairs.
As I retraced my path to the car, the footprints made me very conscious of how we walk the earth, surrounded by such beauty and so many mysteries that often remain unseen, or unnoticed. The seemingly empty landscape was brimming with life. My solitary prints were just one story written upon the snow… but they were part of a much greater dance of life, with each tiny foot adding something unique to the tale.
Another reminder awaited us as we left, the continuing direction of our journey now dictated by the snow and ice beneath the wheels. To force the car to turn on that skating rink would have been futile at best… so we followed where the day wanted to lead us… and, by accepting our destined journey, were about to find ourselves in fairyland…
I can literally feel your emotions. Beautifully written! A trip down the memory lane…
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Thanks, Ashwini…it was beautiful. The snow is rather worse today and the roads not inviting!
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Oh..It’s pretty chilly here too (as chilly as it can get in Mumbai) Our winters are warmer than your summers 😛
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I know…my son was over there for a month this time last year 🙂
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Ok. Have you ever visited India?
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Me? No… I wish I had though. It has always been a place I have wanted to spend some time. Not just for a holiday, which keeps you separate from the life of the land, but to really experience the people, the colour and light. My son fell in love with the country and the kindness of its people. As he cannot walk and needs a wheelchair to get around, India was not a ‘sensible’ choice… but the people he met helped him do so much more than he ever dreamed possible, took him into their homes and families and taught him a great deal about how to live life.
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Aww that’s so nice. Yeah I know we do lack some facilities back here but as your son has experienced, people here are very welcoming and hospitable. In fact according to our culture guests are treated as next to god.
Hope you’ll be able to visit India soon enough!
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I doubt I will ever have the funds for travelling that far, Ash, but I am glad my son was able to do so. He ended up travelling thousands of miles through the country, thanks to the kindness of the people he met… he’d only intended to see Delhi… and will never forget the experience.
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You might like to see this 🙂 https://scvincent.com/2018/01/01/when-everything-goes-wrong/
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This is so inspiring to read. I’m so happy that your son found India and Indians to be so welcoming and helpful. 🙂
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He loved the country, start to finish. 🙂
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Thanks for taking us with you…
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T=It was too lovely not to share 🙂
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Beautiful thoughts and photos Sue I envy you and Nick on this physical and spiritual journey. 💜 Thank you for allowing us to join you.
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It was one of those small journeys that we could easily have missed…but it gave us so much ❤
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They are always the best Sue 💜
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I agree Willow ❤
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Footprints made you cautious of how we walk the earth… very poetic feel….
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It reinforced the idea that we are never alone in anything we do…
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So right.
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Thank you, Jaye 🙂
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So glad you shared that magical moment, Sue. Looking at all those tracks in the snow, there must have been quite a party up there!
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I couldn’t believe how many creatures there had been up there since the snow had fallen overnight…
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It did look unbelievably busy!
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It did 😉
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Stunning photos and words 🙂
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Thanks, Esther 🙂
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This is such a beautiful, atmospheric piece of writing, almost dreamlike and meditative in its pace. Enchanting photos too.
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Thank you, Sheila… it was such a beautiful, still morning 🙂
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Glorious morning.
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It was…and then we found ourselves through the wardrobe 😉
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Beautiful photos, Sue. ❤
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Thanks, Alethea ❤
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Such a wonderful morning out and such beautiful photos.
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It was really beautiful… just enough snow but not so much that we couldn’t play out 🙂
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Yes, the perfect amount. I saw an article on BBC yesterday of snow photos from around Britain. Some of yours could have easily fit in.
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Thank you… that’s high praise, Trent 🙂
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Taking your adventures where you can find them.
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It would be churlish tor refuse 🙂
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Beautifully done Sue.
Did i pick.up on some Bob Ross colours in there ! ?
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Just standard colours, Michael 🙂
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Fabulous photos to go with a lovely post Sue. I agree with you, Ani would have loved it!
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She had her snowfall today 🙂
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yay!
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🙂
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Stories written upon the snow…thanks for sharing with us. (K)
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Lessons everywhere 🙂
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How pretty. I love the way all those little tracks reminded you of the life in motion all around you that winter morning. It sounds like there may be a part 3… 🙂
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There was… it was too magical not to share 🙂
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Reblogged this on Joy Lennick and commented:
As ever, beautifully written, Sue.
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Magical, Sue. Thanks for sharing the pictures and specially your thoughts.
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Magical indeed!! Snow can be so beautiful. I love your thoughts as you experienced this delightful place.
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It was a perfect morning, Darlene 🙂
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Unplanned adventures produce the most unexpected fruit, more often than not. 😀
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I find that to be true. 🙂
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Oh the wonders of winter–captured so perfectly in your beautiful post, Sue…
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Snow at ts best that morning, Bette 🙂
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Thank you for the wonderful journey, Sue! You really have a great mystic area. Michael
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It is a lovely old wood, whatever the time of year 🙂
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Thats great! Thank you for presenting this.
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🙂
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This is so beautiful, Sue. Your feelings have jumped off the page (screen) onto me. To be one with the earth, a forager, nature’s fairy, is humbling and terribly exciting.
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That’s pretty much how being there made me feel, Jennie.
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I could tell! 🙂
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🙂
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Wow great journey Sue, love your photos and feel like you took me there ❤
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Thank you, Kate…I’m glad.
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a special moment shared with all 🙂
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🙂
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I hate the snow but it’s interesting to see it through your eyes. It’s warming here but it’ll be back down temp wise later this week.
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You prbably get more in Ohio than we do here…so we still see it as a treat most of the time 🙂
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Ohio that is, in the states.
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Great article. I find there is nothing as amazing and great as winter mornings where the snow lies across the world like a blanket
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It always fills me with wonder 🙂
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😍✌
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