What’s a moment you wish you could freeze and live in forever?

First Some Childhood Memories

I was 9 years old when I finally learnt how to whistle –  in my recorder class. We first learnt to coo like a dove using our hands, then whistle and then play the recorder. That wasn’t the moment I want to freeze.

Playing in the garden meant climbing trees and somersaulting over the branches and hanging by my legs. I had a long swing my father made me before he died which I also used gymnastically but that’s not the moment I would freeze either…

Freezing These Moments

What I enjoyed the most was quietly moving through the flower beds observing birds, butterflies, insects and flowers in a close-up manner while staying hidden from humans. Sometimes I had a dog or cat for company and sometimes I was completely on my own. I was 10 years old.

I loved viewing the flowers overhead with the sun  glowing through their petals and the birds singing and warbling. There were bushes of bright yellow flowers and hibiscus. It was my paradise. My very favourite thing to do once I had my fill in the garden was to pick a flower, like a hibiscus. I would bring it indoors and slice it in half with my mother’s art sculple.

Then I would get the microscope and explore the inside of flowers: stamens, pistols, ovules, ovum, calyx etc. I would look to see if I could see ‘seeds developing. ‘ Or I would taste the nectar of nasturtiums and honeysuckle.

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Maybe I could have frozen these moments by becoming a botanist.

I think I would have enjoyed being a botanist but when I got to highschool biology we had to study human anatomy and animals too. That was alright but not my favourite. I enjoyed studying fungi, flora and ferns… About xylem and the phloem of stems and trees… about transpiration… About how the sap in tree trunks make a special noise as it moves which attracts certain insects. This sound can be detected and recorded by a device.

I am still fascinated by plants. The other day I found ‘weeds’ belonging to the cruciferous family in my garden, two types, almost the same. When I researched further I discovered one was a mutation of the other. I won’t bore you with the details but for me it was most fascinating. I am also fascinated by soil biomes and have attended some lectures to understand how roots live in harmony – a ‘world of their own.’

I guess by gardening I am still that quiet child that listens and observes. Maybe in my own way I have frozen these moments. They live on – inside my soul.

And they are still my happy moments moving amongst flower beds…

What fascinates you?

Have a wonderful day

~Morag Noffke ~