Falling asleep in a Berlin hotel room with the window cracked open, I wondered whether the multiple bird calls I could hear were a recording being played to the neighborhood at large for some reason. It took a long time for my sleep deprived brain to figure out that what I was hearing was the first nightingale song I have heard in my life.
I am an early May birthday too, (Star Wars day as it goes!) and so I feel deeply at one with this time of year. Who doesn't though? A May morning, when the sap is rising, is just treasure. There are endless pillows of cow parsley drifting through the woods and along the riverbank. Oh - and it's asparagus with everything of course!
So lovely Wendy - and belated Happy Birthday! It’s my daughter’s on 26th and she was born on a perfect May morning. My Dad picked me a huge bunch of bluebells on the way to the hospital to see me ( you could do that in those days)
Just the same Wendy - we are now in Wooler because I have the energy and focus to manage the journey, do my share of driving etc. snd enjoy the garden and quieter life here. Miss our family though!
Woke to a cuckoo every morning last week in Ireland - I always like the sound but feel sorry for the little bird that ends up hosting the huge baby cuckoo!
We went to Leighton Moss in north Lancashire this week, spotted lots of ducklings, avocets tending and turning their eggs, marsh harriers scoping gull nests and an osprey soaring above the reeds. Maximum spring!
There was a fox cub snuggled behind the mounting block as I went to get on my horse. He joined the rest of the family and they watched our lesson from the undergrowth.
The return of the cold north wind (begone with you!)
The swifts are screeching above and the last of the wild garlic is gathered. Already the tomato plants are blooming, so maybe there'll be an early harvest of tomatoes, fingers crossed...
a couple of streets down from me there is a house with a large garden that runs along the path. for years the elderly couple that lived there grew fruit and vegetables in the garden. the best runner beans i have ever seen and huge rhubarb plants along with potatoes, carrots, cabbages and so much more. sadly they both passed away a number of years ago and the property went up for sale with the garden being sold seperately from the house as a building plot. the land has been sold and then resold but nothing has ever been done with it and for over 5 years now it has been untouched. the once beautiful fruit and vegetable garden is now completely overgrown and is covered in knee length grass, thistles and nettles. it used to make me sad to see it but then last year when i was walking past it i noticed a tree growing up and over the fence which must be at least 6ft high. the tree was just starting to get leaves on it and over the spring it also began to produce tiny green fruits which slowly revealed themselves to be figs. this year the tree is even taller and the fruits are just beginning to appear. i think this is a real sign of spring and the resilience of nature
This week’s highlights for me were a dawn chorus walk in Ecclesall woods on Saturday, seeing and hearing swifts above our Sheffield garden for the first time this year and miles and miles of hawthorn in bloom seen from a train to Cambridge.
As we settle in our new surroundings following our big house move I have been in awe of the changing hedgerows. We moved during peak daffodil season and are now travelling through bluebell and into cow parsley season. It's glorious.
We had a fire pit and marshmallows to honour beltane, and threw wishes written on bay leaves into the fire. I hope its the start of a new tradition.
Falling asleep in a Berlin hotel room with the window cracked open, I wondered whether the multiple bird calls I could hear were a recording being played to the neighborhood at large for some reason. It took a long time for my sleep deprived brain to figure out that what I was hearing was the first nightingale song I have heard in my life.
How wonderful 🙂
Blimey, that Jack in the Green ritual is brutal!
I agree!! love the poem though!
I am an early May birthday too, (Star Wars day as it goes!) and so I feel deeply at one with this time of year. Who doesn't though? A May morning, when the sap is rising, is just treasure. There are endless pillows of cow parsley drifting through the woods and along the riverbank. Oh - and it's asparagus with everything of course!
So lovely Wendy - and belated Happy Birthday! It’s my daughter’s on 26th and she was born on a perfect May morning. My Dad picked me a huge bunch of bluebells on the way to the hospital to see me ( you could do that in those days)
Thanks Sue. A perfect birthday month.
How are you doing Wendy?
Finally feeling more able to do the things I love, thanks Sue. It's been a long road. How about you?
Just the same Wendy - we are now in Wooler because I have the energy and focus to manage the journey, do my share of driving etc. snd enjoy the garden and quieter life here. Miss our family though!
Sounds so lovely. (Not the missing family bit.) Glad you've more energy for the garden. Bet the landscape is amazing there. X
happy birthday.
Heard a cuckoo in my wood this week. Your pictures are the embodiment of early summer, love it 😍
Woke to a cuckoo every morning last week in Ireland - I always like the sound but feel sorry for the little bird that ends up hosting the huge baby cuckoo!
We went to Leighton Moss in north Lancashire this week, spotted lots of ducklings, avocets tending and turning their eggs, marsh harriers scoping gull nests and an osprey soaring above the reeds. Maximum spring!
The excitement of the first swifts over the back yard!
There was a fox cub snuggled behind the mounting block as I went to get on my horse. He joined the rest of the family and they watched our lesson from the undergrowth.
Watching wood pigeons blissfully stripping and eating green elderflower blossom with complete, concentrated, contentment.
The first tiny avocet chick and a crane chick in Gloucestershire. The crane chick appears so tiny, a little ginger ball of fluff beside the parents.
Heard the cuckoo and the curlew calling. The vivid green leaves of the wimberry (bilberry) covered in their pink unripe fruits.
The return of the cold north wind (begone with you!)
The swifts are screeching above and the last of the wild garlic is gathered. Already the tomato plants are blooming, so maybe there'll be an early harvest of tomatoes, fingers crossed...
Yes! That north wind was really draining.
Wishing you a very happy birthday/publication day!
Suddenly gaps are filling in with green. Lillypads are spreading across the pond at work. The wonderful chorus of morning birds grows louder.
a couple of streets down from me there is a house with a large garden that runs along the path. for years the elderly couple that lived there grew fruit and vegetables in the garden. the best runner beans i have ever seen and huge rhubarb plants along with potatoes, carrots, cabbages and so much more. sadly they both passed away a number of years ago and the property went up for sale with the garden being sold seperately from the house as a building plot. the land has been sold and then resold but nothing has ever been done with it and for over 5 years now it has been untouched. the once beautiful fruit and vegetable garden is now completely overgrown and is covered in knee length grass, thistles and nettles. it used to make me sad to see it but then last year when i was walking past it i noticed a tree growing up and over the fence which must be at least 6ft high. the tree was just starting to get leaves on it and over the spring it also began to produce tiny green fruits which slowly revealed themselves to be figs. this year the tree is even taller and the fruits are just beginning to appear. i think this is a real sign of spring and the resilience of nature
The tiny brown tree frogs are back and singing us to sleep at night.
This week’s highlights for me were a dawn chorus walk in Ecclesall woods on Saturday, seeing and hearing swifts above our Sheffield garden for the first time this year and miles and miles of hawthorn in bloom seen from a train to Cambridge.
As we settle in our new surroundings following our big house move I have been in awe of the changing hedgerows. We moved during peak daffodil season and are now travelling through bluebell and into cow parsley season. It's glorious.
We had a fire pit and marshmallows to honour beltane, and threw wishes written on bay leaves into the fire. I hope its the start of a new tradition.
Swallow, swifts, house Martins.
Yes! Our swallows have returned to Wooler too. Such a welcome sight.❤️