from a different back step

altho I have no garden, in the traditional sense (I do have a rather splendid roof terrace and a small but perfectly formed courtyard) other houses in the street I where I now live, and that backing onto it, do

(have gardens)

there is a tiny oasis of green (clearly visible from the roof, given that the trees and lawns and shrubs are surrounded on all sides by bricks and mortar and on one by a towering concrete jungle)

ah! the birdsong emanating from this little patch of heaven. . .

a joy to listen to, from my new back step in the four-high-cornered bijoux courtyard of my new home (picture to follow) (but don't hold your breath)

(the courtyard has a little scrap of sky high above, if you look up, for a roof - it reminds me of a miniature prison exercise yard during the day, but at night I turn the fairy lights on and the small space is transformed. . .) (I digress)

other sounds are different - I'm probably not even half a mile from the rented house as the proverbial crow flies (altho given my proximity to the river, it's more likely to be a seagull) but the planes seem to be much much higher on their flight path into Heathrow and I can barely hear them

the underground trains going overground on the tube line, high up on its many-arched perch behind the houses on the other side of the street, rumble past in a very reassuring fashion (the house doesn't even shake); at night, the lights in the carriages and the sparks from the wheels flash at me from the gaps inbetween the houses - as if flickering some message or other into the bedroom mirror

there is no screaming teething baby (that I can hear anyhow) in the house next door; no un/happily moaning Downs Syndrome boy or his ever chirrupy sister and their very patient parents in the house on the other side; no primary school playground filling up with noisy children and their bell-ringing teachers behind; no short-cut traffic driving at speed along the street in front

it's quite quiet actually

apart from the trains and the birdsong

5 comments:

Mel said...

:-)

Yep, definitely James Taylor kinda moment.....and I'm imagining the transformation come the darkness of night--fairy lights and stars....*happy sigh*

Oh, what a glorious piece of peace.

I, Like The View said...

indeed

:-)

Mel said...

Yup....thinkin' I like the rooftop deal......with fairy lights.....

mig bardsley said...

So beautifully described, I feel as if I could step onto the roof garden from here :) In fact I will! (Got any coffee?)

mig bardsley said...

If I may, that is :)