brimstone and fire

It was a beautiful sunny day and we went for a walk around Devon Great Consul mine workings (see my link). It is a barren place for the most part but two very early brimstones appeared to add a little colour, one of which you might be able to see below (just)

Ok, here it is, admittedly it is small and it was flying away fast

beech holidays

two mallards ("we shall be cruising today at 40,000 feet"), and below everyone taking a break after a long hard day building nests.

rook life

male rooks are very busy collecting twigs and other bits and pieces from the garden which they then present to the female in the rookery for making the nest. The one in the top photo has his beak full! As usual they are nesting both low and high in the trees so we must be in for our normal summer weather.

Crocus time

 The first bumblebees are around making for the crocuses. They get so heavily covered in pollen they can hardly fly.

heavenly celandine

Pansies, Lilies, Kingcups, Daisies,
Let them live upon their praises;
Long as there's a sun that sets
Primroses will have their glory;
Long as there are Violets,
They will have a place in story:
There's a flower that shall be mine,
'Tis the little Celandine.

WW 1802 (link)

Pentillie

Pentillie Castle is an interesting place not unlike its better known cousin Cotehele. It has a strange history (see link). The top picture is of old squireTillie  sat in his mausoleum. I felt like calling the picture below the sermon on the mount, but in fact it is the Saltash walkers listening attentively to David Readman. It was very congenial, even if Spot was not allowed to join in! More AONB events at this link.

Pentillie

the river at Tamar at Pentillie castle, looking down river towards Weir Quay (for photo up river in blog see this link). Pentillie House is on the extreme right of this photo. It has been much reduced to fit it on the blog page! Full version is in picasa web album (see link to right)

Rising

This morning was clear and sunny if cold. It is a strange time of year. You can sense a restless energy in the earth, the leaves of celandine, wild daffodils and dog violets are reaching up for the sky, the smell of wild garlic is in the air, and the crocuses are out, and yet the world seems to be holding its breath. Blackbirds and mistle thrushes are already nesting, and the finches and tits are looking at their smartest. We are on the edge of Spring and the great slow explosion of life in our Northern homes is about to begin once again.

I know the content of this post is trite in some ways but the feeling that the life around us is beginning once more to pulse with energy is not. I feel we have lost our connection with the world from which we emerged. The noise of our toys is incessant, invasive and alienating. If we cannot hear and respond to the natural rhythms of the world we become mentally unhealthy not just as individuals but as a species. 

two ladies and one tit

a great tit lending some colour to a drab day, as is the bright green of the early leaves of lords and ladies, and her ladyship's paws.

boring

not a lot seems to have happened in the last two weeks. The plants that were flowering out of season have been killed off by the cold. Snowdrops like a bit of cold and are now out everywhere providing the only real colour in the lanes. Otherwise everything is looking very tired and jaundiced; just right for February.

they're back

ah well, back to reality, no kind house sitters, short walks and lots of food, they're back and I will have to resume my blogging chores.

and I see they made some unsavoury new friends

We're off on our holidays for a few days. We will be back soon