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Ali Edwards's avatar

A lovely read, Rachel! Aren't cemeteries wonderful for a good, quiet nature walk? I'm lucky enough to have a small one just down the road from us and - even luckier - it isn't kept rigidly tidy, meaning that there's plenty of cover for the wildlife. I love walking through it in the spring as patches of snowdrops and primroses are replaced with bluebells and wild garlic as the trees burst into bud and blossom. And I knew ivy flowers/fruits reminded me of something! Thanks for the chemistry nudge!

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Rachel Goddard's avatar

Oh yours sounds just like mine, though mine is the main cemetery for this side of the city so a real urban haven for humans and wildlife.

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Ali Edwards's avatar

We’re really lucky here - in addition to our ‘wild-ish’ cemetery the town’s parish church has had their graveyard designated as a mini nature reserve as part of their Green Church charity status: they've added bee hives, a bog garden, wildlife homes, etc - and they do annual biodiversity surveys to monitor the flora and fauna that live there and pass through. I think it is an amazing initiative, particularly once graveyards have been closed to new burials and then they can become tranquil havens for nature as well as people.

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Damian Tow's avatar

I have a seagull that lives on my roof terrace and becomes a familiar, though noisy, stranger

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Rachel Goddard's avatar

Definitely, good for having conversations with!

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Cheyanne Johnson's avatar

Loved the pictures and moments you painted. My dusty biology degree especially loved the chemistry reference. There’s a couple parks by my house, one is structured and organized, the other feels a bit more wild and overgrown. Thankfully they both have playgrounds for the kids, while I check out what’s growing this season. I’ll have to remember to snap a few photos next time.

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Rachel Goddard's avatar

I knew the ivy clusters reminded me of something, but only came to me yesterday! I'm sure Paris must also have some wonderful little havens, maybe some of it's cemeteries even? I funds that taking photos makes me stop and look more closely so I can take a good photo.

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Zoe's avatar

Lovely post Rachel. I love a cemetery to wader around too, they’re great wildlife havens. I wrote a similar post about this too. The seed head looks very similar to the ones of Michaelmas-daisies in my garden, they often grow wild in those kinds of places, so could be them.

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Rachel Goddard's avatar

Thank you. I'll have a look at your post too. They could be michaelmas daisies, I really can't remember what was growing in that patch in the summer!

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Sheila's avatar

This was a lovely read. I read mizzle and thought ‘great word’ and saw you’d said the same. Then reading your beautiful descriptions I thought ‘photos, photos, photos’ and you had some! 💚

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Rachel Goddard's avatar

Oh thank you, yes mizzle is such a lovely word isn't it! And there are always photos on my posts, my camera is nearly always ready!

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Sheila's avatar

Yeah I love that! Both the word and photos!

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Amy's avatar

This is a lovely piece. I've come to really appreciate walking the same paths, particularly through winter. Becoming familiar with the environment means I can more easily tune into the shifts of the seasons. On Insight Timer the other day, this quote popped up: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking out new landscapes but in having new eyes" (Marcel Proust). Your post brought this back to mind. Thank you for sharing your 'tiny wonders'.

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Rachel Goddard's avatar

Thank you, yes familiar paths do help us notice the changes so much more. And I absolutely love that quote, I will be noting it down, thank you.

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