Come Rain and Sun

Over the hills and along the coast we walk on a hot summer day to get away and find some peace and quiet. There's no mechanical sound up here as we are well away from the roads that are hidden behind the hills. Nature has been particularly lush this year for some reason and the plantlife appears somewhat larger than most years, with some grasses having grown to well over six feet in height. Rare and unusual plants and flowers are found like the example in photo four. Also seen are butterflies like the Marbled White and Common Blue, with the Peacock now making a late appearance. It seems as if the flowers lift up and take flight on the breeze.

Photos five to eleven were taken in a place that nobody much knows about, so it is nice to give a glimpse of some of these places.

In the last photo we find some Chicory growing in a field, for some reason although it is considered a native, Chicory is rarely encountered here. Nature is out and about on these long days and short nights and I have met young badgers happily snuffling up the road and passing by unaware of my presence. Other much larger badgers were alarmed at being caught out and have galloped down the hill, making their exit through the nearest hedges with a noisy crashing sound. The native seven spotted ladybird is also making an appearance again after being in decline for some time due to an invasive species.

After leaving the word hedgehog in my list of labels for the last post out of wishful thinking, as I haven't seen a hedgehog for a good number of years, two young fellows arrive just outside the window from where I was sat a couple of nights ago, announcing their arrival with much snuffling and foraging about. It was certainly a very welcome sight to meet these delightful creatures again. It has been quite dry here this summer so they might have been looking for water, and water is left outside for the birds, insects and now hedgehogs because of the ongoing scarcity.

Many years ago a hedgehog found his way into the house I was living in and crawled into the hem of a curtain to have a kip. Not realising that it was a hedgehog and presuming it was a drunken friend passing through the house as they sometimes used to on their way through the village, the sound was ignored till the next morning when the hedgehog was discovered and helped upon it's way. I then found out that hedgehog shit is actually a fairly persistent substance.

For no particular reason other than it has been on my mind lately included here is the short story of St. Odran, mainly as a reminder that the truth of a situation is not always welcome news.

When St Columba decided to build a church, he found that the chosen site was infested with demons. He discovered that these creatures could be driven away only if a holy man were buried alive on the spot. St Odran volunteered for this honour, and was duly entombed. After three days, St Columba decided to dig St Odran up, and ask for news of Heaven. The latter declared that there is no wonder in Death, and Hell is not as is reported. On hearing this, Columba cried out, 'Earth again upon the mouth of Odran, that he may blab no more.'