Lyra and I had a lovely walk this morning. Just a tot of rain (for that’s all we’ve had) seems enough to make things shimmer. We found the first red campion of the year and a likely looking stand of brambles, which augurs well for crumble season. There was also some hawthorn blossom just out. This was just as well as my cloots had been casted and I was resplendent in my good summer shorts. I love the smell of May blossom, like slightly salty marzipan. There was also some whin (gorse) out on the eastern side of the wood. Whin blossom has an intense smell of coconut. I’ve always wondered whether, when the first coconut washed up on the shores of Scotland, they opened it and thought – crivvens this cheil smells o’ whin. This is filed in the same box of questions as what did people call orange things before oranges first came to these shores…..
Live from Ruthven 