April 1st

The blackthorn archway

promised enchantment, a door

distant bells ring out

 

What a beautiful walk this morning. One of the blackthorn trees on the edge of the moors, bathed in the warming sun of early spring, was flowering. It must sit in a sun trap, as the other blackthorns nearby were not as magnificently decked out as this beauty. The sky was a clear blue, the morning chill was ebbing away. There were birds everywhere. Woodpeckers (Green and Great Spotted), Buzzards, Chiff-Chaffs, Treecreepers to name some of the more unusual ones.

Managed to get some (I say this humbly!) wonderful photos. Here are four, two of the blackthorn tree in question, one of a feisty wren who took exception to my presence and sat above my head singing loudly at me (I assume telling me in musical terms to “piss off”). And finally a teeny baby frog Debbie found on the moors. It is very early for a juvenile frog, when most of the new brood seem to have only just hatched into tadpoles, seething in the shallow ponds and stagnant parts of the river, not sure how it emerged so quickly as I doubt something this small crawled up onto land last spring.

March 1st

Nature whispers time,

Murmurs in trees, ponds and earth,

The colour of spring.

 

Went for another run today, in the moors of course. It was another lovely day. I missed the frogs, which were mating today. Debbie saw them when she went on her walk, they go quiet when they see a disturbance, but if you stay perfectly still they start to croak and splash around, writhing in huge knotty bundles, the poor female squished in the middle of the amphibian ball. I might take a gander tomorrow, a leisurely stroll, to see if I can see them too. Not because I make a habit of watching animals getting it on, but because it’s one of the most interesting and amazing sights and sounds of spring, in the microcosm of the moors. I’m so happy and lucky to live in the countryside. The transition of winter to spring is one of the best times of year (only bettered by Spring itself!).

For now, here is a video of Mark Hollis’ “The Colour of Spring”, from his solo album, today’s haiku is in this songs honour, I cannot fail but be moved when I listen to it. Shame he dropped out of the music business. He was, and I assume still is, a genius. I’ll forgive him supporting Spurs because of that..

And if you want to see an example of frogs mating, please visit this blog of mine, from 2007. My writing style was a bit more provocative and irreverent then! (yes, more irreverent). So I hope you will forgive that :). But there is a video of the frogs mating, childishly entitled “Frogs Porn”