Seeker

Today I am thankful that I did not have to try to find a parking space (at great expense) in Oxford. I enjoy visiting Oxford but parking near the city centre is a nightmare.  Thank God for buses! And especially today for Oxford's 'park and ride' scheme and the opportunity at Thornhill to park free for up to 11 hours on the outskirts and enjoy the bus ride into the city. And today there were lots of parking spaces available - not always the case. It's often full. So I'm grateful for that too. This is part of my Lent series of posts - finding ordinary things to be grateful for each day. Image Credit: Calotype46 on Flickr, CC License

Nothing is wasted, not even the countless marine organisms, most of them microscopic, that died and fell to the bottom of the warm sea that covered southern England. Their skeletons, compacted under pressure over millions of years became limestone.  Thanks to the inspiration of J and his creative prayers in church this morning my Lent thankfulness post today is for coccolithophores , foraminifera, ostracods, molluscs and the like. Not what I was expecting to feel thankful for today, but it caught my imagination. As I looked at the new limestone floor under my feet and the old pillars faced with limestone that support the high church roof over my head I had a sense of the continuity of life and life renewed. In conversation over coffee after the service J brushed a pillar with his finger, showed me the chalky dust on it and said 'and they are all still here and useful'.  So today I am grateful for long-dead marine organisms and for skilled stonemasons. Image Cre...

As I looked out of the bedroom window early this morning, on a cold day with bitter wind and tiny snowflakes falling, I watched a red kite starting to rebuild a nest high in the horse chestnut tree just beyond our garden. A pair has nested there for the last 3 or 4 years so I was not surprised, except that given the low temperatures it seems a bit early. On the other hand the nest building process is a long and thorough one. These are large birds who may attempt to raise 3 or 4 chicks. The nest needs to be strong and securely fixed in the high tree branches. Red kites are becoming numerous in our area, having been re-introduced between 1989-1992 after a long period of extinction in England due to zealous Victorian game-keepers in the 19th century and the fact that for several centuries before that red kites were classed as 'vermin'. We see them a lot now, swooping low over our garden or hovering over the roads looking for road-kill to scavenge. They are magnificent cr...