13th May - Day 53 - ‘The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.’ Marcel Proust

To avoid any problems from yesterday’s blog, I thought that I’d start by clarifying that ‘forest bathing’ involves keeping your clothes ON.

Continuing with the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week 2021, the picture of wild garlic that I took on the way here this morning fits with a quotation from Thoreau, ‘The question is not what you look at, but what you see. I hadn’t even realised when I took the picture that there was the spider on the right and that the snail was out of its shell.

According to the Woodland Trust, wild garlic, also known as ransoms (Allium ursinum) is often a sign of ancient woodland. The origin of the Latin name ursinum (Ursa as in bear) is said to link to the plant being a popular food source for the brown bear. Interestingly. I have to say that I haven’t noticed any recently digging up wild garlic in Derbyshire. It has, however, traditionally been used in medicines to treat a wide range of ailments.

Before you rush to pick some, make sure you check that it’s not lily of the valley, which has a bell shaped flower, as there have been a few deaths from people eating this very poisonous plant, thinking it was wild garlic.

If you were missing some of my puns this week (I know that’s unlikely) it’s because I thought I’d snailed it last week.

Continue to look carefully at the world around you and if you stay at home or go down to the woods today, let nature provide you with the healing and wellbeing properties of sight, sound, smell (and if you’re careful) touch and taste. Especially - keep an eye out for snails, spiders and, of course, brown bears!

‘Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson