I don’t know what to say. Superlatives won’t do your writing justice. I’ll just keep advocating for a collection on paper that I can gift my partner who doesn’t really read substack and whose heart will burst when she reads your work. 💚
Hi Mike. I'll still be a whiley before I've a printable body of work - but I'll start doing recordings of some of the pieces soon and hopefully that'll fill a gap :-)
I had a garden, selvedged by a river, banked with Alders. There, if you were lucky, fish rose to feast leaving concentric receipts vanishing in moments.
'to the night sky a river is like a silvered eel ......' You've done it again David - don't we all just feel like throwing our pens away right now!! This is such exquisite writing. I need to read it aloud a few times with the lovely Eden listening in my heart.
“…the River Eden is quietly humming an old tune. So old that almost all the sounds have been worn and washed away, leaving just the dip and surge of mayflies dancing where notes would once have been.”
Vivid and beautiful. The perfect prelude to my day.
Your story of the fleeting life’s of Mayflies comes to me on the exact day I will witness the Hex hatch ( Hexigenia) here in Vermont.While usually happening in rivers, this time of year anyone who casts with a fly into the waters of only a handful of northeastern lakes looks forward to the show. Nymphs surface, then turn into tiny ‘flying sailboats’ learning to fly. While human spectators are fascinated, the trout are frenzied, as you know. The show starts in the southern tip of the northern lakes until it makes its way to the Canadian border about early July. Today, I know I’ll take your story with me.( I’ll pack it next to my lunch😊).
'Hex hatch' - you have a way with naming over there. Conjuring. And what an honour for a piece of writing that seeks to keep its feet on the ground (or in the water) that it should merit a place alongside lunch. Perfect.
A magical tale of this people as old as time. Your writings always bring tears to my eyes. Thank you, and may your day be full of the wonders of the small and enchanting.
Oh my goodness, this is so beautiful. I didn't know how to describe a mayfly hatch in a way that was befitting of its majesty, but you have done exactly that. (Your voice in reading is also sublime.) I have to thank Carmine Hazlewood for posting a link to this post in my post on mayflies. I've got a camera and a video, but the picture painted by your words is so much more glorious!
What perfect timing! I read your beautiful composition a day after attending a pond gathering on a neighbour’s property. About 20 of us gathered to explore the hidden life in their 3 small ponds. What an abundance of life we discovered. Metamorphosis in all it glory - including mayfly larvae. I greatly appreciate your considered musings.
Your prose sounds like poetry to my ears, David. Mesmerizing! Thank you for bringing Mayfly medicine to my day :)
What an amazing piece, David! You paint an exquisite picture!
Glorious writing, makes me want to rush down to the river and sit with its song.
Simply gorgeous!
It is so beautiful, you made me think of mayflies as the most wonderful and amazing creatures. Thank you.
What beautiful writing! I was deeply moved by it. Thank you!
I don’t know what to say. Superlatives won’t do your writing justice. I’ll just keep advocating for a collection on paper that I can gift my partner who doesn’t really read substack and whose heart will burst when she reads your work. 💚
Hi Mike. I'll still be a whiley before I've a printable body of work - but I'll start doing recordings of some of the pieces soon and hopefully that'll fill a gap :-)
Thank you again, David. You have made a thin place with your words.
Thanks again, Carri, for reading and for the kindness. Yes, the mayflies seem able to slip across all sorts of boundaries :-)
I had a garden, selvedged by a river, banked with Alders. There, if you were lucky, fish rose to feast leaving concentric receipts vanishing in moments.
Thank you, David, for your wonderful writing.
'concentric receipts vanishing in moments' - the mayflies sang you a song and you sang one back :-)
'to the night sky a river is like a silvered eel ......' You've done it again David - don't we all just feel like throwing our pens away right now!! This is such exquisite writing. I need to read it aloud a few times with the lovely Eden listening in my heart.
That is kind of you, Vanessa. But keep hold of your pen :-)
You touch my heart, thank youx
Thank you for reading and I’m happy that their story made you smile.
“…the River Eden is quietly humming an old tune. So old that almost all the sounds have been worn and washed away, leaving just the dip and surge of mayflies dancing where notes would once have been.”
Vivid and beautiful. The perfect prelude to my day.
Your story of the fleeting life’s of Mayflies comes to me on the exact day I will witness the Hex hatch ( Hexigenia) here in Vermont.While usually happening in rivers, this time of year anyone who casts with a fly into the waters of only a handful of northeastern lakes looks forward to the show. Nymphs surface, then turn into tiny ‘flying sailboats’ learning to fly. While human spectators are fascinated, the trout are frenzied, as you know. The show starts in the southern tip of the northern lakes until it makes its way to the Canadian border about early July. Today, I know I’ll take your story with me.( I’ll pack it next to my lunch😊).
'Hex hatch' - you have a way with naming over there. Conjuring. And what an honour for a piece of writing that seeks to keep its feet on the ground (or in the water) that it should merit a place alongside lunch. Perfect.
A magical tale of this people as old as time. Your writings always bring tears to my eyes. Thank you, and may your day be full of the wonders of the small and enchanting.
Thanks, Theresa. Hope your day goes well.
Oh my goodness, this is so beautiful. I didn't know how to describe a mayfly hatch in a way that was befitting of its majesty, but you have done exactly that. (Your voice in reading is also sublime.) I have to thank Carmine Hazlewood for posting a link to this post in my post on mayflies. I've got a camera and a video, but the picture painted by your words is so much more glorious!
Thanks so much, Karen. Isn't Carmine such a good soul? Your pictures are to come back to, time and again :-)
She is! And, lol, I have so many photos I rarely get back to them. But some rainy day...
What perfect timing! I read your beautiful composition a day after attending a pond gathering on a neighbour’s property. About 20 of us gathered to explore the hidden life in their 3 small ponds. What an abundance of life we discovered. Metamorphosis in all it glory - including mayfly larvae. I greatly appreciate your considered musings.
What a great neighbourhood! Thanks for sharing the experience.
Another outstanding and beautiful piece of writing. Thank you for bringing the beauty of the mayflies to my imagination.
Thanks for reading, Andrea, and for being so generous.