Lyra is super excited about the cows. Yesterday Catriona the 24th of that Ilk let me feed her with Lyra next to me. It was both terrifying and thrilling for Lyra. She cannot get enough. Not an hour passes without her sitting by the field gate checking they are still there. (She is not entirely alone, I was prancing round the field in my jammies at 7 a.m. yesterday because I thought they had got out – they were in fact sitting behind the compost heap.)
In an attempt to reduce my hourly going to see the cows trips we are taking a longer walk in the morning, so that a post walk nap is in order. The idea is that I then leap into the garden and dig for victory. (This is less successful than I thought due to the siren call of the post walk cup of coffee and snackerooo). The walking though has been wonderful. In our first days up here I roamed the lanes a lot, but somehow the garden rather took over. It is good to be back out, noticing all the small changes in the hedgerows.
The hawthorn is now fully out and the hedges are seething with birds, all a twitter. Peering in, I never seem to see any chicks but there are fluffy feathers all over the grass, like fallen petals so they must be in there! Colonies of water avens have appeared in the verge, pushing through young nettles, cross-stitch and meadowsweet leaves and floating above there’s the occasional unfurling cow parsley. I love the bobbing heads of plantain, funny little oval planets with white satellite rings. There are hints of blue from the cats eyes (speedwell) and vetch and the promise of some truly spectacular thistles later in the year. Keith Kerr’s Laburnum is in flower, so its soapy lemon smell will be joining the hawthorn in the heat of the day. I would definitely wear Eau de Hedgerow…………..
Live from Ruthven 