It’s Christmas Eve – and I have been for a long walk. A long walk – not so much in distance but in time. A luxury when there are so many more pressing things to do before tomorrow comes.
I spent a solitary hour or so in ‘Shedland’ – and took with me a gift of my favourite Evergreen – for the naked trees that grow there. I left some on the Giant Oak that lives in the middle of the clearing where I found my second shed antler way back at the start of the year.
A garland of Mistletoe for the naked trees in ‘Shedland’.
I didn’t expect any gifts for myself – because ‘Shedland’ has given to me all year round. Nothing stirred in the wood apart from the wind. I think all the animals lay quiet in anticipation for Midnight – when they can magically talk to each other.
When finally I emerged under the cover of dusk – I stopped at the crossroads nearby – and watched the last vestiges of daylight turn dusky-pink and amethyst…
Time to stand and stare at the crossroads on Christmas Eve…
and see the brightest star come out in the darkness.
Half-way round my route – I heard something “breathing” in the hedgerow – not an animal but some bleached, dried grass moving at the roadside in the wind. As I stopped again and listened – I found myself remembering the last paragraph from ‘Wuthering Heights’.
A memory of Summer Past.
When finally – I arrived back in the village – roughly two hours – and an indeterminate bit later – I walked back through the churchyard where the porch-light had been left on after the Christingle Service earlier. It was so lovely – to end my Christmas Eve ramble by walking up the path towards the bright light – as Emily’s words fluttered back into my head again…
“I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath, and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.” From Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
A beautifully peaceful Christmas Eve treat.