Helo Pawb (Hi Everyone)
Over the last week, we have had glorious weather here in Corris. The sun has been out, birds have been chorusing in greater numbers, and buds are appearing on trees. When I went for a walk on Tuesday, I had to take off my jacket, so warm it had become, though I haven’t acclimatised enough to be like the locals, some of who were almost in t-shirts. For a while it looked like spring had finally arrived, but then the rain and mist returned, sometimes at the same time (see short video below). The last two days, especially, have almost made me feel homesick: sun, then drizzle (or mizzle, as my Cornish friend would say), then rain, then sun—like the famous Melbourne ‘four seasons in one day’.
Below are photos from my various walks to show how the seasons have been changing, sort of, around Corris:
Late Winter
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| Winter trees |
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| Afon Dulas, looking upstream |
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| Frost on fields |
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| On a clear day you can see for miles. View from a local lookout. |
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| Waterfall seen from the same lookout, days later, after rain |
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| And then the mists descend |
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| First buds (on a blackthorn** bush) |
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| Blackthorn** flowers |
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| First daffodils (Wales national flower) |
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| Lambing season, though I missed taking a photo of the lamb gambolling around its mother |
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| Afon Dulas, looking upstream, with sun-scald* |
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| Corris in sunshine |
Or Not
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| And then the mist and the rain (filmed today) |
Whatever the weather, I am loving my time here. The folks here, in the village and with Stiwdio Maelor, are welcoming and helpful, my studio is a great place to work (plenty of quiet thinking and writing times), and the landscape is inspirational.
On my last trip to Britain, I fell in love with jackdaws. Not sure why. They just seem to have an interesting mix of solo and communal activities.
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| Jackdaw warming itself on a chimney pot |
Sometimes I hear one overhead give a single ‘chak’ and other times when one bird is excited or there’s a whole flock of them:‘chaka-chaka-chak’. Here’s a photo of two having a chat 🙂
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| ‘So, how’s the weather?’ ‘Cold with a side order of wet. Don’t you just love it!’ |
I hope wherever you are, the weather is feeding your soul in some positive way.
Until next time.
Pob Hwyl
Earl
(* See Robert MacFarlane’s article on nature language.)
(** My good friend Grevel Lindop pointed out that what I had thought were hawthorn bushes were in fact blackthorn bushes. Thanks, Grevel.)
(* See Robert MacFarlane’s article on nature language.)
(** My good friend Grevel Lindop pointed out that what I had thought were hawthorn bushes were in fact blackthorn bushes. Thanks, Grevel.)
Hi Earl, I'm lovin' your blog posts! It's a privilege to be following you on your journey. I thought you might be interested in knowing the Irish Gaelic for jackdaw: "cág" [CAWG], which is a bit like the sounds they make. 🙂
Hi Ali, Thanks for the comment. I love the Irish Gaelic word for jackdaw: CAWG. Yes, a little like their single call. Looking forward to catching up this weekend. Cheers, Earl