Spring is coming! – Houghton Forest, UK

The Spring is coming!

I can smell it in the air, when I go for a walk to the city park.

I can hear it in the morning, in the form of bird songs, when I leave home @6am to work.

I can feel it on my skin, when days become longer, and warmer, and Sun is brighter and longer in the sky.

There is no better place to experience all those sensory evidence than in the wild nature, because she is the most accurate and precise when it comes to reacting to climate changes. So when the weather was right, I picked up my boots, my camera and a tripod, and I drove to a nearby forest.

To my surprise, the car park was full of cars, and there were people with children everywhere. I have to admit, that people, here in UK, like to be in the nature, whether it is a walk in the park, along the seafront or hike in the mountains.

I found the trail and stepped onto the narrow, sandy path leading into the forest. At the beginning or the footpath there were many couples, families or small groups walking either on the pathway, or between the trees. Kids running around, or swinging on the robes hanging from the higher branches, under the vigilant eye of their guardians.

I have passed them, directing my steps into the deeper part of the wood.

One did not had to be very perceptive person to notice a gradual makeover that was taking place in the forest floor.

Two colours – brown and green – were fighting for attention of anyone who was willing to look.

Brown – the symbol of old, death and passed time. Stubborn and confident, has been ruling the forest kingdom for the last 4 months, undisputed, covering every inch of the forest floor.

Green – lively, fresh, energetic and hopeful. Shy at the beginning, but just like every youngster, more bold as it grows, slowly but surely claim its rightful place, as the new king.

The more one looks, the more won battles one could find.

As I was going through the forest, I looked up in the sky. The naked branches of the trees were contrasting with the dark blue sky. The evening was coming.

As I slowly headed back to my car, many thoughts were passing through my head. In just a few months there will be signs of the old kingdom and I will not be able to look up into the blue sky and see it so clearly – those empty branches will grow their leaves, and they will become a new sky for those below them.

I came back home with new perspective on life – nothing last forever. Good or bad, it will all pass away, giving the space to a change, for better or for worse, but how I take it, it all depends on me.