The Clerk in the Country

Friday 23rd October 2020

Here comes spring!

A fluttering outside the window caught my eye; not the last butterfly of the summer but a sycamore seed spiralling by on the breeze.  Autumn has arrived.

To let more light into the kitchen during the darker months an overgrown willow has been cut back, opening up a view of the sky and sightings of larger birds: crows and magpies, passing gulls and even a wheeling buzzard.  For the present the small birds have deserted what’s left of “their” bush, but they will be back.  An observant Great Tit has spotted the fat ball hanging from a twig but is keeping it to himself.

Meanwhile, intermittent small explosions from the fields behind the house signify either a slow invasion from the north or that a “gas gun” is scaring flocks of pigeons off newly planted cereals.  After last year when incessant rain prevented the sowing of many winter crops there has been a rush to plant as soon as possible.  Already a field where I watched barley rippling in the breeze just a few weeks ago is green over with something else; a reminder that although we’re heading into winter now, spring will follow.