Time to Stop and Stare

Saturday morning I opened our bedroom curtains and saw this pretty little Siskin feasting on the peanuts. He is the first one I have seen on our feeders, so I ran for the camera. He was there for quite some time and I was reminded of William Henry Davies poem -

Time to Stop and Stare

What is this life if full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep, or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

William Henry Davies 1871 - 1940

We should all take time to stop and stare in this busy world.

It is wet and windy here today, as with everywhere, so I don't expect to see many birds on the feeders today. The children left for school this morning wrapped up against the rain, except for Jay who refused to put his hood up as it would spoil his spiky hairstyle! I had to buy some new school sweatshirts for him this weekend, as the cuffs of his old ones were nowhere near his wrists. Someone recently told me that children grow the most in springtime - I don't know if this is true but I can believe it when I look at Jay, nearly 13 and nearly my height. Fay has GCSE science, maths and art exams this week ... sometimes I find it hard to believe that she is almost 16 - it only seems like yesterday that she was starting school.