Golden afternoon

 

Golden afternoon

On a cold, clear November afternoon the sun blesses the leaves of the oak trees, burnishing them with gold. Many leaves have already drifted to the ground. Soon the rest will join them and the trees will stand stark against the sky.

The further tree is the one on which the red kite rests after it has tired of wheeling across the sky. The magpies make their harsh complaints, the squirrels skitter and chase each other up and down the tree trunk or leap from branch to branch, tails frisking, but the oak stands, impassive, majestic, a haven for so many creatures.

A Boy and His Dog . . .

Last Sunday was a gloriously sunny day, a day for little boys and young Labradors to play together . . .

I'll paddle . . . you drink . . .

High speed Roxy . . .

Boy with boat

First frog and a foolish butterfly

Yesterday, St David's Day, started with a heavy frost and blue, blue skies. It was a wonderful day – brisk, bright and surprisingly warm in the sun though had the wind been blowing it would have felt very cold. Today started in similar vein and the weather forecasters are predicting that we will have several more dry, clear days. In celebration of that I have chosen a Spring-like colour for this post, though it will probably be impossible to read.
Yesterday there were many flies in the forest, most of them intent on settling in my hair and just now I saw my first butterfly of 2010 in our garden. It was yellow – more lemon yellow than primrose but it didn't settle so I couldn't photograph it. I'm sure it's much too early for butterflies to be out and about so I fear it is destined for a short life unless it can find a warm place to rest. While I was outside I glanced into the pond in time to see a frog swimming into the safety of the depths. This was the first frog I have seen this year – usually they're busy quite early in February. Like our daffodils, however, they are late to appear this Spring.