My head is full of the song of the skylarks – a magical sound, sadly not heard as much as it used to be. Theories abound as to why they have declined in number, but it could be because of insecticides or storms on their migratory routes. For me, they evoke memories of the years when we lived in the Western Isles – even more remote than our Argyllshire island home today. The summers were forever light, forever breezy and I had so much energy then. Just as well really, as there were four growing boys, two dogs, two cats (often with kittens), hens, sheep and lambs.
It seemed exhausting at the time – idyllic in retrospect. Memory is very resilient.
Thankfully, God is merciful regarding our memories! It is wonderful how often over time the bad memories are softened or lost all together.