… when the living is not exactly easy for all sorts of reasons, but is certainly simpler – and sometimes, quite wonderful. Unable to sleep, I got up just after sunrise and found lots to enchant me just a few minutes’ walk from home. Despite the hour, it…
Tag: wildflowers
I’ve just discovered a wonderful private nature reserve almost on my doorstep – I only managed to visit on the last open day but am looking forward to next year already. England has lost over 95% of its traditional hay meadows since the war, so sights like these…
“Daisies are our silver, Buttercups our gold: This is all the treasure We can have or hold.” Thus runs a children’s hymn I remember from Sunday School in the 50s and early 60s. Innocent and charming, it was written by Jan Struther, to be sung to the tune…
Spring weather is always a bit chancy, but I and a friend were lucky with a dry day for our walk. We parked near the harbour in Brixham, and enjoyed the chaotic visual feast that is the working port. Wouldn’t they make great jigsaws? I can never resist…
Making the most of the hot dry weather, I did a clifftop walk along part of the South West Coast Path. We started in Bowleaze Cove, which is bordered by a strange mixture of expensive upmarket housing and budget tourist accommodation, plus a rather intriguing Spanish-style building of…
Genetic, not musical! I was struck by a particularly distinctive plant of red campion (Silene dioica) growing in the hedge (as seen above), which was a bit reminiscent of the flowers of ragged robin, another member of the Caryophyllaceae tribe. I noticed a long time ago that the…
It can sometimes seem a long haul through the darkness of winter, but come the early spring, my spirits start to lift as nature begins to stir. From the first primroses and snowdrops onwards, there’s something to look forward to, and one of the most eagerly-anticipated is bluebell time.…