“Wild spirit which art moving everywhere”.
These words by Shelley from his ‘Ode to the West Wind’ surely sum up the weather over the past few weeks. Here we have been lucky, spared the impact of this
“Destroyer….dirge
Of the dying year……..from whose solid atmosphere
Black rain.”
Apart from venturing out to replace wind mangled fence panels on the allotment the outdoor world has remained, well, out there, unexplored. Time then to bring my web site up to date by raiding my hard copy archive. Result? See below for my latest post.
DESMOND,HENRY and GERTRUDE
“Like a Hurricane,” is for many of us Neil Young fans, his greatest song. The lyrics seemed kind of appropriate these past few weeks as the above named storms swept over the country, ferocious, but also with the “calm in their eye” which Neil acknowledges. It was on one of those few calm days that allowed for a bit of gardening, some ‘buttercup’ moments. As a result, roses and soft fruit bushes have been pruned and camellias fed with their granular food. Our daughter Beth was around to help. A “hands on” young woman, she took the lead on maintenance tasks, cleaning out the hen house while the occupants foraged in the allotment, erecting new supports for the blackberries and fixing a new starling nest box to the arbor. All old school “two man jobs” with a woman now firmly at the helm!
One day of calm and light saw snowdrops and witch hazel in all their winter glory and a nice range of bird life in the garden. Tipped off by an “Archers” radio serial storyline, I decided to follow our namesakes and participate in the RSPB “Big Garden Birdwatch.” Seventeen species announced themselves during the appointed hour. An unusual and welcome highlight was the presence of a pair of Redpolls on the niger seed feeder.