Love song in the trees

Out with my camera after lots of rain. At last.

Sky was served up on puddles. Flattened plates of blue were spooned in a twist in the track. Even the grass stood taller, enthused by the recent rain. The beauty of this morning was enhanced by the birds. Birdsong echoed from left and right, from the hedges to the tops of the trees. The distant train was a mere splash of sound. The mood in the air was full of positivity. Birds were not singing of thirst anymore, but of love. 

The gorse that had looked, oh so dead, now has fine, pointed yellow flowers, christening the roasted brown twigs in a reborn sense of hope;

That we won’t dry out and shrivel,

To nothing

After all.

Photographing the dew on the grasses in the light, I crouched until I felt the familiar burn in the crick of my neck. No pain, no gain, I silently chuckle to myself. I remembered to breathe. I did. Most of the time. I hear my uncle’s advice again, ‘breathe in before you focus, breathe out to the shutter.’

And then three hours in, I take a break. I sat on a rock and listened to the work on the air. Bee-eaters, were somewhere above my head, their playful shrill is so distinctively summery. At the same time a green woodpecker was holding the sky to ransom, in not such uplifting tones, overacting and making a scene, in a repetitive screech from a telegraph pole. Thankfully, leaving the woodpecker in the shade, a nightingale began to show its skill of song. ‘Master of voice’ - its name is not lost in translation.

But the gift for the listener who sits long and still and quiet enough, was another elusive one. The unusual throaty call of the Golden Oriol crowned the moment. A treasure of feathers if you ever see one flitter past. I have, but only once in my life, when a mustard yellow bullet flew horizontally past my window. What the hell was that I asked my aunt.

Calm and rested and excited to see what I had captured in the flesh, I got up and turn home. My footsteps were quieter than I’m used to on the dark, damp earth.

Oh, but just one more thing, before I go. I nearly forgot to say, (how can I have so quickly forgotten?) Yes,

Thank you, by the way,

Thank you so much for the rain.

Thank you for joining me this week. Life is calming down a little for me I have to say. can feel it in my shoulders. I hope life is good with you too. And spring is here, giving us surprises and turns in the weather with cold and hot in one day, grey skies and sun, heat and chills…as spring likes to do. Have a good weekend. Treat it well. Remember you.