Vista to the north along Scout Scar escarpment A bright and breezy day of scudding white cloud against the blue. There's clarity and from Scout Scar escarpment the western fells are distinct. There's violet. wood anemone and I find my first early purple orchid. Larch come into leaf, looking fresh and bright. Juniper has last summer's berries and new shoots.
Stopping to admire gorse in flower close to the escarpment cliff I hear lambs bleating down at Barrowfield Farm, and the call of green woodpecker.
Stopping to admire gorse in flower close to the escarpment cliff I hear lambs bleating down at Barrowfield Farm, and the call of green woodpecker.
On Holy Thursday the male wheatear is on his display post. Skylark are singing. Chiff chaff were next to herald spring. Then willow warbler came in a rush and are singing everywhere. I hear redpoll for the first time this spring.
A fine mature oak on Helsington Barrows looks golden-green as it comes into leaf. No catkins this year, but they come out at the same time as new leaves, so it's easy to miss them.
One of my scouts reports hearing a cuckoo in Kentmere so I walk the territory where I hear them but hear nothing. Sitting on a rock, I see I share it with a snail. Rather, a pair of banded snail mating. I reckon ' coming out of one's shell' came about through observing how vulnerable snails are to bird predation when their soft bodies emerge from their shells. This week the UK Supreme Court has clarified the definition of a woman, based on biological sex. Snails are an instance of nature's complexity. They're hermaphrodite.
Holy Thursday, the day when Christ washes his disciples feet. Also known as Maundy Thursday. Maundy from the Latin mandatum commanding this ceremony. I'd forgotten the derivation of Maundy, if I ever knew it.
As the rituals and rhythms of our lives change, so does our language, the words and metaphors we use. Does anyone speak of someone coming out of their shell these days- a friend thinks not. We're contemplating screens, not observing banded snails, night owls, snakes in the grass, moths too near flame or earwigs earwigging. A disconnect from nature leads to a shift in language.
A fine mature oak on Helsington Barrows looks golden-green as it comes into leaf. No catkins this year, but they come out at the same time as new leaves, so it's easy to miss them.
One of my scouts reports hearing a cuckoo in Kentmere so I walk the territory where I hear them but hear nothing. Sitting on a rock, I see I share it with a snail. Rather, a pair of banded snail mating. I reckon ' coming out of one's shell' came about through observing how vulnerable snails are to bird predation when their soft bodies emerge from their shells. This week the UK Supreme Court has clarified the definition of a woman, based on biological sex. Snails are an instance of nature's complexity. They're hermaphrodite.
Holy Thursday, the day when Christ washes his disciples feet. Also known as Maundy Thursday. Maundy from the Latin mandatum commanding this ceremony. I'd forgotten the derivation of Maundy, if I ever knew it.
As the rituals and rhythms of our lives change, so does our language, the words and metaphors we use. Does anyone speak of someone coming out of their shell these days- a friend thinks not. We're contemplating screens, not observing banded snails, night owls, snakes in the grass, moths too near flame or earwigs earwigging. A disconnect from nature leads to a shift in language.
Easter Sunday, 20th April 2025
The early morning cloudscape was breathtaking, a great river of billowing cloud flowing before the sun.
A fine day and the wheatear seems to be settling in for the season. He has a favourite display perch and the nest location has some protection. The banded snails are gone but all along a rim of limestone terrace there are early purple orchid in bloom. At this season spring flowers come in a rush.
Easter is a Bank Holiday so on a fine day people take advantage of the sun, of vistas, of the coming of spring. I write to celebrate and to share the beauty and wonder of it all. But ----
A good neighbour returns from Scout Scar smilingly brandishing drinks bottles. No, she's not been drinking she is collecting discarded rubbish. Today, a father and two children cycle to and fro along the escarpment, their hound racing around off-lead. Signs at the Mushroom Shelter, and hereabouts, tell what's remarkable and spell-out the country-code, how to respect this lovely place. No cycles, dogs on leads, no litter.
Today, I see wheatear. I hear a single linnet. April and I'm aware you have to listen for bird song. and search for birds these days. I wonder about the impact of ash die-back on the ecology of trees, the insect populations, caterpillars munching on fresh new leave - food for young birds.
The day is beautiful and the first orchids are in bloom. Blue moor grass flowers early and is outlined against the sky where it grows on rocky outcrops.
The early morning cloudscape was breathtaking, a great river of billowing cloud flowing before the sun.
A fine day and the wheatear seems to be settling in for the season. He has a favourite display perch and the nest location has some protection. The banded snails are gone but all along a rim of limestone terrace there are early purple orchid in bloom. At this season spring flowers come in a rush.
Easter is a Bank Holiday so on a fine day people take advantage of the sun, of vistas, of the coming of spring. I write to celebrate and to share the beauty and wonder of it all. But ----
A good neighbour returns from Scout Scar smilingly brandishing drinks bottles. No, she's not been drinking she is collecting discarded rubbish. Today, a father and two children cycle to and fro along the escarpment, their hound racing around off-lead. Signs at the Mushroom Shelter, and hereabouts, tell what's remarkable and spell-out the country-code, how to respect this lovely place. No cycles, dogs on leads, no litter.
Today, I see wheatear. I hear a single linnet. April and I'm aware you have to listen for bird song. and search for birds these days. I wonder about the impact of ash die-back on the ecology of trees, the insect populations, caterpillars munching on fresh new leave - food for young birds.
The day is beautiful and the first orchids are in bloom. Blue moor grass flowers early and is outlined against the sky where it grows on rocky outcrops.
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