Only a couple of days left
till mid-summer.
Gardening by day
and quiet walks in Lady Dixon
during peaceful evenings.

Rippling expanses of long grass
dotted with dog-daisies
and orchids.
Pastel shades and gentle fragrance
of rose gardens.
Dappled leaves, long shadows
and a warm, golden glow
on sun-kissed tree trunks.
Long days and night skies
that remain greeny-blue,
even at midnight!

And in Lady Dixon …
bunnies nibbling at tender grass,
dragon-flies by the Lagan
and a cautious Mammy duck
who leads eight darting ducklings
safely upstream.

Such a perfect evening
and yet the best is yet to come!

As we dander over to our car,
a fox comes walking
straight towards us!
We both freeze, dismayed –
we’ve nothing to give
the poor fox!

But we needn’t have worried.
The fox makes a bee-line
to a half-sandwich
on the kerbstone
and takes it gently
in his mouth.
He then notices something else
on the kerbstone –
a Jammy Dodger biscuit.
He sniffs this curiously
before taking it gently in his mouth
and trotting away.

We stare after him
in amazement – wow!

Thank You, Lord,
for the beauty and peace
of Lady Dixon park
and for the tame fox
that must frequent its car park.

Thank You for the prospect of summer
as it stretches out before us.

Is this to be a summer
of foxes and Jammy Dodgers?
(We’ll have to wait and see!)

(c) Claire Murray, 29th June 2026