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the colours of spring

We walk down the old railway track from the Bowd heading towards Harpford. Harpford is such a perfectly pretty village it is almost stupid; the thatched cottages, the beautiful ancient church, the river, it's all there, and all seemingly unaffected by modernity. This evening the wind has stilled, and as the railway track descends through a steep wooded valley it is separated from all external mechanical noise. It is an uncanny silence, broken only by the singing of the birds which echoes around this quiet space and reminds me of the landscapes that I sometimes see and hear in dreams.

The colours of spring are freshly laid, and I attempt to pass some of this freshness on to you before these colours fade. The leaves have only just come out on the trees. The beech leaves are soft and downy and the greens bright and new. We are very fortunate to observe this yearly renewal, and so far the geometry of nature appears to be unchanged by events in Japan. This we are also thankful for.

We wind down through the dark wooded valley and will soon come out into the somewhat brighter light of this already fading evening, to continue our walk towards Harpford and then on to Newton Pop and the bus back. I am hoping to see something of the Hawthorne trees which are currently in full flower.


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Early Purple Orchid- Orchis mascula

I saw the last flower up on the other side of the hill about a week ago and wondered what sort of orchid it was. There were only two of these in the wood though it turns out to grow commonly throughout Europe. I asked our friendly plant expert Jean what it might be, and she thinks it's an Early Purple Orchid. It was quite dark where this was taken so the flower may have been a bit lighter in colour than it appears in the photo. Nice to see it anyway. Above that are the bluebells and the last few remaining daffodils, it being that time of year again.

timelapse devon 20th April 2012

Regarding cloud, light and wet seagulls whilst enjoying the easy going smell of Panis et Circencis.



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