a nice way to start a day

a pair of goldcrests appeared this morning on our wisteria (which is about to bloom). These are the smallest of our native birds but they are surprisingly unafraid of people. They were extremely active looking for insects.

They are said to have a perpetually surprised look on their face. They may be nesting in a cedar nearby. I hope so because they are great fun to watch.

St Dilpe and Landulph

After giving a talk to Landulph Good Companions in Cargreen we paid a quick visit to the church of St Leonard and St Dilpe at Landulph. This church is a good long walk from the nearest village and is set out on a little peninsular that reaches into the lower reaches of the Tamar (see this Google link , the church is at the very end of the road). St Dilpe must be one of the many obscure Cornish Saints (see link) whose names lend extra mystique to local place names. Landulph must be a corruption of Dilpe. Sadly, there were no sweet violets on the bridle path from the church where we had found them for the first and only time in 2005 but it was very muddy (not a bridal path then).

the things we see

a fox ambling across the skyline

a holly blue taking a break

and Harriet with Spring in her step, behind a tattered pheasants eye

the best day of the year

I don't know why but the sight of martins returning to nest is one of the happiest of the year. We have had reports of sightings nearby and today they turned up in large numbers. I noticed a gang of minatory house sparrows lined up on the guttering first, they were obviously planning to steal the old nests before the rightful owners could get back in.

And our great tit laid five eggs this morning.

Calstock

The Tamar Inn, Calstock on a busy afternoon. Interesting junk for sale further up the street.

proper job

Native bluebells showing off their characteristic deep blue violet colour. I hope they last until May. In local Cornish dialect "proper job" is used to describe anything truly appropriate or fitting to the task or well done. "Heller" is anything very bad or very good. And of course there is "dreckly" which notoriously means the same as manana but with less urgency.