i have been feeling somewhat frustrated lately
maybe because i can finally smell the end of winter, the sight of the yellow buds on the forsythia slowly opening, the crocus and snowdrops in flower while other green shoots push up through the earth, the buds on our clematis...
this morning i stood in the garden surrounded by a light mist, everything was silvery, pale grey and i could smell sea salt and marsh.
we live a few miles from lymington where there are salt marshes and the river, one that journeys through our village, finally flows into the solent. bucklers hard on the beaulieu river is few miles to the east of us, this is where naval ships, and many of Nelsons fleet, were built from the wood of this forest for hundreds of years.
so we are close to the sea, that's why i could smell the marsh and sea, its never a scent i have noticed in winter, it seems to be a specific spring scent.
the salty smell must have traveled the few miles to our little village atop the silver strands of mist~reminding me of my deep connection to the solent itself that goes back seven generations of fishermen, mariners and bargemen to my great, great, great, great, great grandpa joseph duke, born in 1777 and who was still a fisherman in his seventies
the next day...
in my life i have spent only a few years living out of sight of the solent and the isle of wight (for my overseas readers~the solent is the stretch of water that separates us from the isle of wight) and i feel decidedly out of sorts when my automatic radar knows i am far from it.
i am drifting somewhat here~my frustration isn't about the season or the smells or thoughts of my sea faring ancestors~i am feeling frustrated about feeling something is lacking.
oh nothing in my life is lacking.
i am feeling frustrated about the lack of places~by places i mean good, independent coffee shops, book shops and cafes around here.
yes the land here is so beautiful and the villages as well, but mostly the shops have been taken over by chain stores~i am sure i don't need to tell you who i mean!
the next day...
i am determined to finish this post today! my hands and arms have been painful and wont let me ramble on too much in one go!
so where was i?
yes, the dreaded chain stores that are taking over *sigh*
i really wish i could go out into my village...any village around here and walk into a lovely, quirky, independent coffee shop that serves really good coffee, chocolate and tea~that is not exorbitant~and be able to sit and drink and chat with swampy or read and people watch.
i have had a long time dream of opening a coffee shop or even coffee/book shop~every time i see an empty shop i say to swampy 'that would make a good coffee shop' and i imagine how it would be decorated, laid out...ahhh we need these dreams don't we?
~what dream have you had today?~