Thunder?

 A Thunderstorm In Town

Thomas Hardy

She wore a 'terra-cotta' dress,
And we stayed, because of the pelting storm,
Within the hansom's dry recess,
Though the horse had stopped; yea, motionless
We sat on, snug and warm.

Then the downpour ceased, to my sharp sad pain,
And the glass that had screened our forms before
Flew up, and out she sprang to her door:
I should have kissed her if the rain
Had lasted a minute more.

https://allpoetry.com/A-Thunderstorm-In-Town

My favourite thunderstorm poem.  And I am wondering if we are in for some  - thunderstorms, not poems. Thursday was sunny again, but everything is refreshed by the rain.  Our Green is definitely less brown, and Angela said she woke up  hearing both the rain and real joy in the birdsong. We have clouds in the sky, though not rain clouds, and a sparkling wavy sea.  

We still haven't had any thunderstorms here though.  I have mixed feelings about them.  We do need more rain, badly, but our block of flats has been stuck by lightning twice, on one occasion putting out the lifts for three months and on another occasion cracking the plaster in the walls of one of the flats next door.

I am back on my Zimmer this morning - a very painful left foot got me and poor Captain B up in the early hours - so the lifts going out again is not a happy thought.

Oh for perfect health - which is something us poor damaged children of Adam have never yet known.  Can we imagine how wonderful it will be?

The photo is one of our Green after a downpour taken by Captain B some years ago.  The Green does not look anything like that at the moment.

The Captain is at home today - not metal detecting!  And he came back from his shopping with a bag of Victoria plums. They have such a short season, and if you can pick them straight off the tree they are my favourite fruit.

The ones he bought are OK - perfectly edible, but they are not what they can be.  Maybe, when the paradise earth is restored, we will have a garden with a couple of Victoria plum trees...

He also bought back a cooking apple, so I am wondering about making an apple and plum crumble for supper.   But who knows?  Getting myself showered and dressed seem to take up every ounce of my morning energy.

New batteries please!

Travels by Book

-

A Book

by Emily Dickinson

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/book/

My early poetry was by A A Milne.  I can still remember much of it:  "Of all the Knights in Appledore/the wisest was Sir Thomas Tom..."

I just loved the beginning - very numinous somehow - and of course the poem is so funny, Sir Thomas Tom being much too wise to get into any fights.

And I can remember bookworming away, lost in Beau Geste in one of the many quiet corners of Nabbs.  I was - Spoiler Alert - so shocked when the hero died!  I did not know such a thing could happen.  Its not a book I could have read or enjoyed as an adult, but as a child I was completely lost in it, transported into the world of the book.  As for Bulldog Drummond in The Final Count !!  I found it terrifying.  That mysterious poison that killed you instantly if a drop of it touched you, UNLESS you had the antidote.  

I did not have the antidote.  Fortunately Bulldog Drummond did.

And I have been a great armchair climber for many years. I don't know how many times I have been up Everest, K2, the Alps, etc, the safe way, by sofa. With a cup of nice hot tea by my side.

Tuesday morning there was still no rain - not down here anyway.  There has certainly been some in the North.  Helen reported wet stuff falling from the sky on facebook on Tuesday morning.  And - hurray! - this morning we had our rain - a little in the night and steadily all morning. Which is better than a monsoon-type downpour which runs off the dry ground so quickly causing flooding.

And this morning we went to our Flower Lady for our  Bible study as usual. She was very welcoming and we talked some more about the Kingdom of God, the heavenly government that will set things right, wonderfully right, on the earth.

How I wish everyone on the earth would just accept a Bible study and find out what it actually says.  If it is God's inspired word, as its writers claim, then  clearly the proof lies within it.

There are no pictures of Appledore in Col's blog, but I did find this pretty one of Crab Apple Blossom which makes a nice heading.

Old

 

Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold

By William Shakespeare

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou see'st the twilight of such day

As after sunset fadeth in the west,

Which by and by black night doth take away,

Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereon it must expire,

Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.

This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,

To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45099/sonnet-73-that-time-of-year-thou-mayst-in-me-behold

Shakespeare said it so well I can only let him say it for me. And, yes, the older I get the more precious, wonderful and interesting the gift of life becomes.  As Ecclesiastes tell us, Jehovah has put eternity into our hearts. We want to live, not die.

Nadine, very kindly, was concerned that I would not be able to get out to the river to have a good seat for the Eclipse on Wednesday.   But I was happy to see what I could from our balcony.  After all, I hope to inherit the earth and live forever upon it, so I hope to see many eclipses, many comets as they return and return, and have many many more glimpses into the incredible universe in which we find ourselves floating.

In the end, Nute and me were on the balcony, and the rest of the family, including Captain Butterfly and his camera were on the Green - the brown Green - below, along with crowds all watching for the moment.  It was a partial eclipse so nothing spectacular from our viewpoint - just a change of light and a lengthening of the shadows.

But what a splendid Universe Jehovah has made and set this jewel of a planet in. Learning to take care of the earthly creation properly will be wonderful, and so will learning more about the universe of which so far we have only had the merest of glimpses.

We are all in "the valley of the decision", and I hope we will all make the decision to search for our Creator now and live forever in the restored earthly paradise.

Nute left Friday morning, but the Derby family left the night before after treating us all to a fish and chip supper.  Friday was super hot and airless.  The breeze from the sea had died down so we had no relief. And no rain in sight.  There was a strong wind blowing the curtains about in the early hours of Saturday morning, bringing some welcome cool. But what we need is rain - coming down steadily, not as a monsoon, which will run off and flood.

Sunday morning, and still no rain.  Col is at home today, which is nice, as he is usually out with the Detectorists.  He left very early yesterday, and worked The Field all day, but found nothing.  A couple of good things were found though.

The Lion's Mane Moth

 

Hilaire Belloc

Jim, Who Ran away from his Nurse, and was Eaten by a Lion

There was a Boy whose name was Jim;
His Friends were very good to him.
They gave him Tea, and Cakes, and Jam,
And slices of delicious Ham,
And Chocolate with pink inside,
And little Tricycles to ride,
And read him Stories through and through,
And even took him to the Zoo—
But there it was the dreadful Fate
Befel him, which I now relate.

You know—at least you ought to know,
For I have often told you so—
That Children never are allowed
To leave their Nurses in a Crowd;
Now this was Jim's especial Foible,
He ran away when he was able,
And on this inauspicious day
He slipped his hand and ran away!
He hadn't gone a yard when—Bang!
With open Jaws, a Lion sprang,
And hungrily began to eat
The Boy: beginning at his feet.

Now, just imagine how it feels
When first your toes and then your heels,
And then by gradual degrees,
Your shins and ankles, calves and knees,
Are slowly eaten, bit by bit.

No wonder Jim detested it!
No wonder that he shouted "Hi!"
The Honest Keeper heard his cry,
Though very fat he almost ran
To help the little gentleman.
"Ponto!" he ordered as he came
(For Ponto was the Lion's name),
"Ponto!" he cried, with angry Frown.
"Let go, Sir! Down, Sir! Put it down!"

The Lion made a sudden Stop,
He let the Dainty Morsel drop,
And slunk reluctant to his Cage,
Snarling with Disappointed Rage.
But when he bent him over Jim,
The Honest Keeper's Eyes were dim.
The Lion having reached his Head,
The Miserable Boy was dead!

When Nurse informed his Parents, they
Were more Concerned than I can say:—
His Mother, as She dried her eyes,
Said, "Well—it gives me no surprise,
He would not do as he was told!"
His Father, who was self-controlled,
Bade all the children round attend
To James' miserable end,
And always keep a-hold of Nurse
For fear of finding something worse.

https://englishverse.com/poems/jim

This Strewelpeter parody is almost as horrid as the original.  But I do love the Keeper and his stern command.

There is a moth called The Lion's Mane, and it has a lovely golden mane, as very likely did Ponto above. Sadly I can't find a photo of it in the Captain's Gallery as it has never visited our balcony - let alone our shores.  (It has never, in recorded history, eaten a small child either.)  But I have found a photo of a lion pride happily dozing in the South African sun  taken on my one trip there. They looked so calm and placid, but if anyone had been insane enough to get out of the safari vehicle they would have found, quickly and tragically, that looks can be deceptive.

 I remember we went to Longleat once, many many years ago (with our aged parents), and drove through the lions enclosure.  A large male lion came strolling along, oh so casually, right by our car, almost brushing it. "Why", his demeanour said "I haven't even noticed there is a car full of lunch...er...people right beside me, I'm just lost in deep, peaceful and kindly thoughts. Don't I look cuddly!".

We did not believe him, which is one reason why I am here today to write this blog. But I remember how flimsy the car suddenly felt as he brushed alongside it - I felt like a sardine in a can.

We had our annual visit to The Arun View on Tuesday night, the seven of us.  Food as good as ever, staff as friendly as ever, and ambience as good as ever.  It's a great local, though we may not get there much these days.   I was distinctly un-lionlike and had a veggie dish, the vegetable roast, served with a lovely coulis (or sauce as we used to call it), beans and tender stem broccoli. Delicious.

I then chose to forget that I did not need a pudding and had two scoops of sorbet: passionfruit/mango and raspberry.  Which I could not even finish. I did not have a very good night's sleep, which served me right.

There is very likely a Hilaire Belloc style cautionary rhyme in this - about greed - if I were up to writing it.

Out of greed/and warnings that she would not heed/she took a pud she did not need/ A pride of lions passing by/noted she was in no shape to fly/to safety from their hungry jaws/ and so, without a moment's pause...

Clearly it needs Hilaire himself to do it justice.

New Oven, Old Moon

This is a photo Col took of the full red moon a few evenings ago, from our balcony.  We watched it for ages, while sipping at our glass of home made wine.  What an exquisite way to pull the tides along and light up the night.

Curries, via two sturdy guys, delivered our new oven on Friday morning - quick and efficient - all done before 9 o clock.  It looks very smart, and we now have the oven and the grill in the right places - grill on top, oven below.  So, what with that and our new shower having been fitted on Monday and working well, it was a good week for appliances.

Are there any appliance poems I wonder?   I just looked on Google and, to my amazement, there are - verse rather than poetry though, which makes sense.  But I am not inspired to write one, alas.

We had visitors round for a chile evening, which I thought would put the new oven to the test.  However, the guest who was cooking for us did it all on the stove top. And very good it was too.  Makes me realise how long it is since I cooked my faithful old TexMex chile recipe that was very popular in our expat days - when we entertained a lot.

We tested out the new oven on Saturday night when it cooked pizzas beautifully for us all - seven of us - and so quietly too!  It makes me realise that poor old oven had been grumbling and rattling for some time before it gave up, but I had obviously got used to it.

Last week we started the Lady of the Flowers on Lesson 31 of the book Enjoy Life Forever: What is God's Kingdom?

She had a conventional Protestant upbringing, religious assemblies at school. church attendance, Sunday school, while I had an intensive religious education at my convent school.  Yet neither of us were taught anything about the Kingdom of God.

Interestingly, novelist and historian H. G. Wells called attention to this failure of Christendom’s clergy when he wrote: “Remarkable is the enormous prominence given by Jesus to the teaching of what he called the Kingdom of Heaven, and its comparative insignificance in the procedure and teaching of most of the Christian churches.” 

It is remarkable in one way, but not in another when you consider this warning from the Book of Revelation:  

"So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth..." - Rev.12:9

The "original serpent" the one who lied to our first parents, and set this whole disaster in train, is now misleading the entire inhabited earth.

But if we listen to our Creator and let us ourselves be guided by him, we will not be fooled.  Jehovah will guide us safely through to the restored earthly paradise.

The sadness of Green-winged Orchids

 

We chose one of Col's photos of the Green-winged Orchid for our August calendar.  This shot is one Col took in Corfu I believe, on one of his trips there with the butterfliers, but in the calendar we only used ones he had taken in the UK.

Orchid, with your wings of green, your stunning hue, I hope that one day, all will be as lovely as you. Now we wither on our stem, but...

A flower dying is beautiful - part of the cycle of life.  The skeletal trees of winter are beautiful, living sculptures.  But our death is far from beautiful as we were not made to die.  Which is what I was hoping to convey in a poem but I sort of ran out of steam.  I have minimal steam these days.

We had such sad news of Richard, one of our fellow butterfly conservationists.  Only a couple of years into what ought to be have been a busy and happy retirement he has died.  It is tragic and inexplicable - to us.  But who knows what really goes on in minds and hearts.  Only our loving Creator.

And there lies the hope that our butterfly friend will live again, that Jehovah will wake him from the dreamless sleep of death when the time comes, and he will next open his eyes in the restored earthly paradise.

Maybe Jehovah will wake him into a cloud of butterflies?  Who knows?  But I wish he had known that, whatever his sadness was, and in spite of "the sadness that belongs to the world" (Janet Frame), we are not abandoned to this. 

We are more moth than butterfly oriented now - though I remember our days with Butterfly Conservation fondly - and we had 14 Tigers (in moth form) on our balcony on Tuesday morning. What would a collective noun for Jersey Tiger Moths be?  An Island of Jersey Tigers?  A Channel of Jersey Tigers? Apparently the collective noun for tigers as such is an "ambush". But as tigers are not pack animals, it is a term not often used.  It is quite a warning though.

It was the monthly get together with my fellow Fantastic Book authors on Monday night - which always inspires me to want to start writing again.  Though my witnessing letters and blog mean I do keep active, writing-wise.

Wednesday was our morning with the hospitable Lady of the Flowers.  And it was Col's evening meeting with the Detectorists.  He left very early this morning, laden with sandwiches, cake from the freezer, and metal detectors to get back out to The Field.

And Bea and I had a long chat on the phone - remembering the days when we were not housebound, and some of our outings of old.

And, to end on a butterfly note in memory of Richard, Col is seeing quite a few Clouded Yellows in the fields where they detect. Glad to know that this amazing and exquisite butterfly is still with us.  Richard is one of those who played a part in trying to protect and preserve the butterfly world.

Three Tigers on our Balcony

THE TIGER

by Hilaire Belloc

The tiger, on the other hand,

Is kittenish and mild,
And makes a pretty playfellow
For any little child.
And mothers of large families
(Who claim to common sense)
Will find a tiger well repays
The trouble and expense.

I had better quickly add, in these litigious times, do NOT try this at home children, or mothers.  Well, not until after Armageddon, when nature is no longer "red in tooth and claw".

We started August off in splendid tiger-style with 3 Jersey Tiger moths on our balcony - and they have turned up every morning so far.

I watched a youtube video about the reintroduction of Bison into a Kent woodland. What wonderful curators of the wood they are, and how close they came to extinction - almost literally a hairsbreadth.

It is here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/991535107047282    and well worth a watch.

The inspired definition of faith at Hebrews 11:1 was brought out in the talk on Sunday.  Writing under inspiration, Paul said: "Faith is the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen."

Faith must be based on reason, on logic.  Or what is to stop us from believing that the moon is made of green cheese and worrying that Elvis is eating his way through it from the dark side?

And it was the beauty of the creation that told me there had to be a Creator. But for me to find him, and to be able to say thanks, I had to talk to the Jehovah's Witnesses who called as it was they who opened my eyes to what the Bible on my shelf had been telling me all along.

I am so thankful they called that day.  It was a long time ago, but I can remember hesitating on the door and thinking well, I have been looking for some time and not found the answers. I'll ask them in and hear them out, maybe they have a piece of the puzzle.  It sounded unlikely to me then, but I asked them in. And I listened.

I been part of the congregated people of Jehovah ever since, in that I have been taught as part of his congregation ever since that moment - nearly 40 years ago!

Once again I note how quickly the time goes, how the years fly by - or is it just that our lives are so short now, so quickly over?

A busy day lies ahead, two Zoom sessions this morning, two this afternoon, plus Col's Zoom with his brothers a bit later.