7. Mossy stone

Today the Garden was quiet, grey and windless.

The path through Esker Wood

I wandered through the young trees of Esker Wood;
trees we planted in the first community action on the land exactly 15 years ago. I am proud of this small wood of oak, ash, hazel and alder. It sits in the hollow of an old gravel pit and is one of the quietest spots in the Gardens.

But today I walked with a heavy heart as I had heard of the death of a friend. I wanted to find an object that had an eternal quality, that transcended the short span of human life. I found some beautiful, mossy stones and picked one up. It was a piece of Connemara granite, formed almost 400 million years ago in an ancient  volcano. The stone fitted in my hand, and although it was crystalline and hard it was softened by the moss growing on it. Holding it was, somehow, comforting.