Lily – Page 4 – Louisa Parry

Chicken chatter, carnival-less, lookalike

My fake definition for the word “waddy” was the winning entry on Word Imperfect the other day. Yay!

1. The chickens always chatter when I go down to see them. I imagine them like excited children, desperate for attention and to tell me about their day.

2. We stand on the undulating green lawn in the sun. It’s the first time we’ve been to that park when it’s just a park and not a carnival ground, and it’s strange to see it so quiet and empty. I mentally draw in the stages and the food tents, and think about walking up the hill to buy some sugar cane.

3. There is a painting for sale on eBay which looks exactly like Lily – not in appearance but in expression. I point it out to John and we look at Lily to compare – she’s sat in the exact same position, pulling the exact same expression. We laugh.

After the chicken run, stepping stone, repeating, evening walk, giveaway smell

8/8/2010 / louisa / 0 Comments

1. I sneak back into bed and facing each other, we hold hands inbetween our chests. The dog snuggles her nose into the inverted v-shaped space between our arms.

2. I half open my eyes when I feel the cat step off me. I see her use the sleeping dog as a stepping stone to get to her dad. After she’s settled down on the other side of the bed, Lily finally reacts, looking first at the cat then at me. “Yes, I saw it,” I whisper.

3. I finally meet one of our neighbours for the first time. We chat chickens and growing things. A dog bark in the distance calls me away but just before I go, I think to introduce myself. As I walk away, I hear him repeating my name to himself as a memory aid.

4. We – Lily, John & I – take an evening walk in Thackley Woods. The world is still, the only sounds bird call & distant whinnying and over Baildon’s hills, the sunset is a hazy red.

5. The cat has been sleeping in the washing again. When she jumps on my knee, she smells line-fresh.

Refreshing, so glad he asked, greetings

4/8/2010 / louisa / 1 Comment

1. After suffering salesmen, it’s a relief to see their slumped rugby socks and hear their no-nonsense advice.

2. We repeat the walk Lily & I took on Saturday – a more direct route though, and no getting lost in the middle. I take John to all the things I found he marvels as I had done. While we’re up near the derelict buildings, we meet a couple of random dog walkers for the second time and after exchanging “hello agains”, John asks if they know anything about the buildings. Coincidentally, one of the women trained to teach woodland management and had to learn the history of the local woods. She confirms rumours we’d already heard – of exploding fireworks factories and Italian POWs. She tells us that “all the Calverley girls” loved the Italians, because they “just had that way about them”, and we tell her about John’s Italian heritage and laugh.

3. Lily & Carla visit each of the boys in turn to say hello.

Louisa & Lily’s walk in West Wood

3/8/2010 / louisa / 0 Comments

While John was away at a wedding, Louisa and Lily went for a walk in West Wood.

They found a strange metal pond.

A field.

Remains of buildings.

Interesting mushrooms.

Some cows.

And some mud.

A lot of mud.

Walk, watermelon, grooming time

31/7/2010 / louisa / 0 Comments

1. To walk further into the woods than we’d gone before and find exciting things.

2. The newly exposed seeds glisten as I walk down the garden. Russet heads peck at the garish pink flesh.

3. The rhythm of combing sends us both into a meditative state. The Simpsons run unwatched in the background.

Company, suit, welcome return

29/7/2010 / louisa / 0 Comments

1. I am alone in the meadow. Except for the dog sniffing the grass. And the cat slowly baking in the sunshine. And the crickets chirping their alarm at our presence. And the dragonflies – the largest I’ve ever seen here – racing about over head. And the butterflies dancing over the thistles. And the bugs the baking cat is watching. And the woodpigeons softly cooing their five notes riff. I am not alone in the meadow.

2. I had forgotten how much the suit suits him.

3. I pick up my crochet hook for the first time in months – I can’t stand the feel of woolly yarn in my hands in the summer months – and begin a new project. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed it.

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