Happy Spring

Late January, Lostwithiel, Cornwall

I do love this walk, this start to the day. A touch of frost is a light crunch under my boots. I’m early and I have some moments to stand at my favourite gate view and observe. A flock of gulls rises from the valley and noisily spread across the sky to go their separate ways. 2 noisy crows also in the mix. I hear a thrush atop an unknown tree, gaily welcoming in the morning. The sky is still the blue of dawn with oak and ash buds silhouetted black against.

On the way home, the smell of sweet muck and primroses sitting pretty in the bank. I mis-spelt them ‘promises’ but that feels apt enough. A clockwork wren. A small brown bird disappearing into a barn window and I think “someone has a nest in there”. The farmyard’s stone trough filled with tete-a-tete. I covet this place every time I walk by. Warmth in the sun now after a chilly day and tiny flies are lit up in the sunny places along the lane. A lambkin with a long dancing tail and its mother’s freshly bloody behind. It’s a good year for snowdrops. A friend’s words: ‘celandines for valentines’ echo in my ears.