What the Yorkshire Dales Means to Me

Stan Lee’s Comikaze awakened us to aspects of pop culture we were unfamiliar with.  Our explorations of Malibu Creek State Park and Point Dume allowed us to remember what made some of our favorite movies and TV shows so special.  But after two weekends away, I could not set my attention, or focus my willpower, upon any worthwhile task.  Instead, my mind grasped the white flag, and waved it furiously. 

This is not a situation I can allow to continue, for my dragon characters eagerly await their novels’ publication.  So for today, I’m using this post to remember what the Yorkshire Dales means to me.  In doing this, I hope to rebuild my focus and recharge my willpower.  I hope you’ll find reading this worthwhile.

A field outside Hawes.

This was the work of a moment.

An unexpected view, captured forever.

Yet for me, it represents the tranquility of the Yorkshire Dales.

I know that life there is not easy.

I wonder if I could endure all the rain that makes these fields so green, 

as well as the other extremes of weather the locals endure.

I can only imagine the unending duties of the farmers, 

a list that only grows longer, even as they mark off each task completed. 

It’s a mix of feelings, all jumbled together but individual too,

It includes tranquility, serenity, caring, and of course, love.

Yes.  I think love most of all.

For you have to really love what you do, the people you’re doing it for, 

the animals you’re tending, and the land you work, work, work.

You have to love the small businesses you run, the limited options, 

and the community in which you live.

In an age of technology, of industry, of globalization, to willingly cut yourself off 

from so many modern conveniences, so many options, 

so many ways to embrace anonymity, 

and take on so much responsibility, 

suggests a love for a certain way of life. 

I think that’s why the Yorkshire Dales have been preserved as a National Park. 

I think that’s why the area looks so little changed from James Herriot’s day. 

Love, Beauty, and the Yorkshire Dales: the three are synonymous.  

I salute everyone who lives there, and makes it such a special place.

Dragon Dave