Snapshots from Long Days in May
A Country Calendar
Praise for May
May - one of my favourite months. See if you can hear the cuckoo towards the end of the video!
Nature has truly awakened and begins to bear its fruits. The air carries that late spring hope as we glide effortlessly towards midsummer. The body feels buoyant - reflecting the ever-lengthening days and mirroring the lightness in our hearts. Even on the rare occasions this month, when the sun reluctantly met with stormy gunmetal-grey skies, the heavens presented like a burst of polished chrome.
May Days
The days – they’re unique in May. From the dewy glimpse of the first light, through to the hour of evensong and finally, sundown.
To begin with, as the darkness of night dissolves, birdsong filters through, delicate at first, but leading to a dawn crescendo - an avian choral symphony. Tuneful harmonies all intermingled to knit a textual and joyous fabric – natures backing tape.
As ever, I wake to the blackbird’s lively verse. It’s a brief stirring for me, as if I’m still in a dream or semi-conscious state, yet there’s no mistaking the sweet comforting notes in its song. Relaxed and thankful, content in the fact that the blackbird was close, I slipped back into slumber.
After brewing my morning tea about 7.15am, I glance out of the window and I'm able to observe the wagtail - always a joyous sight, who is on the small pitch of the porch below my bedroom window. There’s the occasional semi-distant squawk of a pheasant, in contrast to the Robin’s much closer melancholy undertones. I often wonder how they find so much energy, these small garden birds – blackbird has been up and about long before I even stirred. It’s impossible to miss the brilliant chatter of the blackbird, but there’s also many bird sounds I don’t recognise and for now, I’m simply happy to soak up natures soundscape.
It’s a busy month, the skies dominated by the arrival of swallows and house martins, all of which were early this year, the swallows nesting in the barn.
Presently, two swallows, with their distinctive twitter-warble song, perch on nearby rooftops. I watch a while as others glide and swoop overhead. Ambling around the gardens and the land, I’m stunned at how many goldfinch there are. They’re attracted to the scrub on the fields beyond – thistles and the like, often giving an illusion of bouncing on invisible strings through the air, as if atop hobby horses. I identify them by their unmistakeable flashes of yellow and red – fleeting, yet conspicuous.
In the hedgerow, there’s the cooing of wood pigeons, while the trees, they bear young leaves and blossoms.
If May were an old-fashioned polaroid, it would display a dynamic exposure in all its sun-drenched glory, faded with age. Picture the grain of film, long before digital. A piece of history, the colour of the days from previous hot summers spent with friends. Golden yellow hues mixed with the complexion of bleached hay bales, all pasted alongside ochre-tinged greens. Summers past!
In Bloom
In May, as the sunshine brings its gentle warmth, it’s time to dream and imagine all the possibilities that might be open to us; opportunities. May teaches us, if anything, that we must not fear change, as nature is changing all the time. We are spectators as it weaves its spectacular journey.
Somehow the grass is greener; a lush depth of colour defining every field and parcel of woodland, while rapeseed fields provide bursts of contrast. Ribbons of yellow confetti appear scattered far and wide, trailing through the grasses – meadow buttercups as yellow as yolk. The fields accumulate in a complex mosaic of buttery yellows and varying greens - from the muted to the jewel toned, stretching out across the vista. May, therefore, never fails in its role as one of the most beautiful months in the country calendar. Everything takes bloom. In shaded woodlands, clusters of bluebells mark out the gradients of the gentle slopes. Wonderful bursts of fragrant hues - those that have been watered by occasional spring rains, now flourishing under that dappled play of light. Magic under a canopy of trees!
Out on Lowland Heath
Mid-morning, through hazy sunshine, I notice purple creeping though the lowland heath, although it will be a while before it takes over in all its glory. Bilberry bushes present a polished pale yellow in comparison to the rest of the vegetation. The gorse bushes are highlighted throughout the landscape, like prominent focal points on an oil painting.
Nothing breaks the peace as I sit alone on the hill, seeking shade under an oak tree. A bee buzzes past and there’s the drone of a light aircraft overhead in the distance – almost silent, but not quite. The cuckoo resumes its song; one that echoes across the heathland, dominant and repetitive above all others. Cuck-coo!
Make Hay While the Sun Shines
May, when at its brightest, is a wonderful pre-cursor to the month of the summer solstice – June. Midsummer. Haymaking traditionally takes place in June, but this year was different. In order to take full advantage of extended good weather, the meadow was cut early. The hay was baled up, and the field cleared, leaving only the remnants of the sharp stalks of scrub and grasses underfoot. There were distant calls of crows, as if issuing a warning, and then it rained shortly afterwards. Later, heat rose from the damp soil, with it, the woody notes of countryside smells; the earth, grasses and trees, releasing their most potent ‘after rainfall’ scents. It had become humid, the unsettled skies once again a deep polished metalwork - an iconic sculpture defined by the outlines of embedded clouds.
Lasting Daylight
There’s an ever present laid-back vibe as if the days, and the warm comforting light, could stretch out forever and ever. The evenings are long, settled, relaxed and warm – the sort of atmosphere that makes one want to spend a whole night under the stars, even. At twilight, we can take quiet opportunity for mindfulness; to relish the stillness and observe the silhouettes of the hills, so very often sketched out in dusky purple pastel. Sundown!
In short, time spent in natural surroundings is thought to be the best medicine. So, live your dreams, love the birds, find inspiration in the beauty that is both around and inside you. You’re in charge! Write your story!
May Haiku
Trees like mobiles
Create patterns of dappled light
Dancing upon dry earth
May is a lovely month. Lovely summary of May. Aren't we lucky to live where we live in the countryside. x
A wonderfully expressive description of rural life and lovely video to watch.
Thank you for your insight into this little area of beauty xx