April Reflections
A naturalist's retrospective as we bid a fond farewell to April
April! Nature’s rhythm from winter’s great thaw, now a dominant echo in life’s dance!
Clear skies gently welcome the day, mornings softened by the filter of the awakening hour, the crescent moon still high.
The quiet, yet unusual heat; haze shimmering like a mirage on the ancient heathland while crows, ever watchful, are silently perched in trees. Birdsong! It has awakened all, with its delicate and trance like timbre.
The sites of the winter ponds, usually pretty, intricate, darkened pools – blackened rustic mirrors upon the heath, are all but dried up. Trees now occupy centre stage, their blossom like broderie set against the blue sky – such detailed works of art. The hedgerows! They’re awakening with the most glorious bursts of blackthorn – one of my most favourite sights of the season – blackthorn in blossom. Golden catkins on willow. Meadow grasses in flower.
Longhorn Cattle graze peacefully in the fields – soon to be released upon the lowland heath. Nature is now showing us, in this gentle yet uplifting month of April, that it is indeed a work in wonderful progress. Awakening from the depths of the everlasting winter solitude.
The first call of the cuckoo (cuculus canorus) reveals the seasonal shift. That, and those distinct high-pitched and liquid chirps that announce the arrival of swallows (hirundo rustica). A glorious and wonderful presence, as they glide and sweep high on the wing, with the finesse of a finely flown kite – kites on the breeze; the esteemed company of swallows!
Dry gorse (ulex europaeus), appears baked in the season’s early heat, a parched yellow ochre hue set against the khaki tint of bark, twigs and dried out grass. The spines of dry gorse bush so hardy and invasive, in juxtaposition with its fragrant yellow flowers.
Ancient logs appear splintered like discarded bones - dispersed like weather beaten trees on a desolate moor, but in miniature form. Some branches, of both oak and birch, remain sparse and bare, while others are beginning to show promising glimpses of green.
The heathland itself, a long way off revealing its purple floral blanket, presently showcases a mass of earthy tones – like clusters of blackened cotton wool. The gorse peeks through, while bilberry bushes offer more polished glimpses of vegetation. There’s a smoke screen like haze, that sits beyond the tree lines. Grains of sand glisten on the footpath – the familiar crunch of stones underfoot. And still the only company is birdsong. The laughing cry – almost curlew like, of the green woodpecker (picus viridis), and the dainty wren’s gentle chorus, emanating from the shade of a blossom-clad hedgerow. Goldfinches dip and dive on the breeze, sparrows engage in lively chatter – a fitting build up to the coming dawn chorus.
So many sights and sounds are associated with this season, now waxing towards full bloom.
It’s not only a time for nature to reemerge, however, but also for us humans - to venture out and explore new pathways. To open our minds to all possibility, fully taking advantage of the many gifts that are available to us, if only we take time to reflect, pause and flourish with the season. We too, can tap into this time of more pronounced growth. Our green shoots are sprouting up from the deep dark earth – our wintering period over. We are no longer in retreat. It is time to awaken!
The day draws to its refuge. Clear skies, that, come dusk, reveal a backdrop of glittering stars – all of which seem to float on the sharp shifting breeze. Twilight. The moonlit shadows casting at length behind the whispering branches of trees.
Winter has delivered its swansong, as have the snowdrops, but it is in this moment, now, that we inch further and joyfully into the unfolding year.
Lets continue to embrace slow living.