Trampled
Our cul-de-sac boasts a small, but beautiful, green. It has five mature cherry trees, three mountain ash which survived the die back and numerous smaller trees which the occupants have clubbed together to buy. One of the residents, now passed away, added spring bulbs around the trees and the fences along each side of the green. There is a succession of beautiful wildflowers throughout the year. A couple of donated benches are hardly ever used, that is until the beginning of the first lockdown. Within a short while all the doggie walkers in the neighbourhood used the green to walk and play with their dogs, while the doggie walkers themselves enjoyed their social gathering.
Two years later, at the end of lockdown, our green had changed in appearance. The outer perimeters had lush green grass with all the spring bulbs growing beautifully. The middle section had been pounded down to squelchy muddy grass by all the canine and human activity. It seemed as though four decades of wildflowers would not reappear.
What a surprise! The green has been beautiful with exuberant growth of the wildflowers. At present it’s a mixed palette of white daisies and yellow buttercups. The pounding down of this grass was for the pleasure of the dogs and their owners, destroying in the process a long-term delight. I realised how we can underestimate the survival of seemingly delicate things under unexpected duress. The wildflower display is the best I have ever seen it. Most of the doggie walkers have gone, leaving a few residents walking their pets. If you look closely between the buttercups, you can still see traces of the mud, rather than a complete carpet of grass. The grass is still growing through the mud. So often what we anticipate never happens.
Two years later, at the end of lockdown, our green had changed in appearance. The outer perimeters had lush green grass with all the spring bulbs growing beautifully. The middle section had been pounded down to squelchy muddy grass by all the canine and human activity. It seemed as though four decades of wildflowers would not reappear.
What a surprise! The green has been beautiful with exuberant growth of the wildflowers. At present it’s a mixed palette of white daisies and yellow buttercups. The pounding down of this grass was for the pleasure of the dogs and their owners, destroying in the process a long-term delight. I realised how we can underestimate the survival of seemingly delicate things under unexpected duress. The wildflower display is the best I have ever seen it. Most of the doggie walkers have gone, leaving a few residents walking their pets. If you look closely between the buttercups, you can still see traces of the mud, rather than a complete carpet of grass. The grass is still growing through the mud. So often what we anticipate never happens.
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An update written four days later!
The sound of council grass mowers echoed through this part of the town yesterday morning. This morning's view of the green was of dried grass and ridges of yesterday's mowings. It was a reminder of how fleeting things can be and the importance of making the most of them whilst they last. We need to make time to, as it were, stand and stare rather than rushing by with a fleeting glance.
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Merle Sparkes
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