Call of the Wild

Bruno has a new ritual.  Early in the evenings, no matter how exhausted he is, as long as it is not raining, he would really like to complete his day with a visit to the neighborhood park.  Something about the feel of grass on his feet, the scent of ducks, swans, pollen in the air and the overgrown trees.

His joy is palpable.

His joy is infectious!  

We keep walking.  We walk from the northern-most point of the park to the very southern-most gate, as well as roam off pedestrian paths so that Bruno can practise some off-lead work again.

I am a city-slicker.  But sometimes in my more fantastical moments, I think of retiring to a tiny turn-of- the-century cottage perched high above the Pacific, with a horse, a pig, and a pack of dogs, a little barn for art-making and some kind of Noguchi sculpture along the driveway.  (This cottage of course would only be a 30-min drive from a main city, so that I can still stock up on sun-block, mascara and get my nails done.)  Come to think of it, I had thought this would one day be my second home.  I had never envisioned a London flat, nor a Royal Park instead!

There's a lake in the park.  Up close, it actually looks au natural, with a "shore".  I was pleasantly surprised.  

All this nature makes me think of Kim, my mother in the most far-flung of lands.

photo credit:  Simon, shot of Kim's backyard in the far-flung land

Before they got divorced, my father used to take us camping.  As in military-style camping with limited access to mod-cons.  He would teach us to pitch a tent, cook out of a mass-tin, make fire from gathered sticks/fallen branches.  Then we had to swim, laps, in the ocean.

Walking through the less trodden paths with Bruno, surrounded by the "wild", my thoughts retreat to childhood, and to my parents, who first taught me this deep love and respect for animals. It is a lesson I increasingly cherish as I grow older.  Because often running my hands along the Grumpy horse's back, or soothing Bruno to sleep, I think, I am like a blind person, my hands tracing braille.  Bruno and Grumpy are decoding the mystery, of what it means to be human, to be man, leading me back to, God.

photo credit:  YL, The Happiest Day in 2012

http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/kensington-gardens