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