Ramblings

Saturday 2^nd May – Home – Last night was the Flower Moon and a full micromoon. It is an exceptionally distant moon, in a far part of its orbit from Earth.

The day starts bright but slowly clouds over. A Great Tit calls insistently and a Blackbird sings powerfully from our trees. It is not Spotty, is another trying to take over the territory? There are more male Blackbirds in the garden than a month ago. There also seems to be more Wood Pigeons.

The courgette sowings in the bathroom seem slow so more are sown as back-ups. The Charlotte potatoes have emerged, the Red Duke of Yorks are getting larger now. The tomatoes in the greenhouse still seem spindly.

In the late afternoon, rain starts to fall. The Blackbird song still rings out across the garden. Strangely, there is not a single Jackdaw insight.

Sunday 3^rd May – Leominster – Rain fell overnight but the morning is bright with scattered high cloud. Wood Pigeons are on the roof tops but again there seems to be a near absence of Jackdaws, just a pair at the bottom of the road. A noisy juvenile Blackbird calls for its parent despite being able to feed itself. It has been six weeks since I last came down here. I had been heading for the railway bridge but had forgotten that the path is closed for possibly up to three months. Into Pinsley Mill. Wood Pigeons, a Chiffchaff, Wren and Blue Tit are in good voice across the other side of the railway. May, Hawthorn blossom, is just beginning to fade whilst Elderflowers are beginning to open.

Into the Millennium orchard. Blossom is appearing on many of the apple trees. However the flowers on the Tom Putt have already come and gone. A Chaffinch flies up into the trees. White Dead-nettles and Cow Parsley are in flower. A bumblebee is visiting the former. A Blackbird is bathing in the rain soaked grass. The Minster bells ring out the hour and the call to prayer which is rather marred by a car alarm. Flowers hanging from Field Maple trees. Access to the Wild Garlic patch is difficult as the normal paths and now blocked by huge swathes of Stinging Nettles. The garlic is now in flower. Guelder Rose is coming into flower beside the railway. A Mistle Thrush flies over, a Blackcap sings, a Chiffchaff calls and another Blackcap ticks.

Into the Peace Garden. The water level in the River Kenwater is much lower than my last visit. A Bird Cherry and a Dogwood are in flower. Red Campion are being swamped by Stinging Nettles . A pair of Magpies stalk the churchyard. A rabbit scurries off to the undergrowth. There are dozens of Grey Squirrels under the trees. A Swift, first of the year, is high above the Minster. The yoga class is taking place on the Grange again.

Friday 8^th May – Home – To say the weather is changeable is an understatement. The day started grey, brightened, darkened, rained, bright sunshine, darkened and rained again. Half a dozen lettuces from the greenhouse are planted out into one of the beds, protected with rings of yoghurt pots and a wire frame. The potato plants are progressing well although the bed is getting overgrown with other plants, weeding is urgently needed. In the greenhouse courgette seedlings are doing well, broad beans are bursting through the surface of their pots, a few of the resown beetroot have come through, hopefully a lot more will follow.

A Great Tit has been flying between the seed feeder and the nest box on the summerhouse. However, I cannot hear any sounds from the box. Young Robins are around the garden, acting stupidly as usual.

Sunday 10^th May – Leominster – A grey, breezy morning. A Dunnock sings at the top of a flowering Wisteria in the car park. Across the Grange and into Pinsley Road. Red Valerian is in flower on the old garden walls. House Sparrows chirrup and another Dunnock is in song. Down to the old school, now the Community Centre. White Lilac blossoms in the rectory garden. More House Sparrows call from the centre guttering. Across the car park, formerly site of the town gasometers. Over Priory Bridge. The River Kenwater is fairly low and slightly cloudy.

Along Paradise Walk. Brambles are coming into blossom. A Chiffchaff calls from the other side of the river. A Wren chatters from the top of a dead umbellifer stalk. The fence between the path and river has been renewed and a locked gate now prevents access to where the shelter stood before it collapsed into ruin. Over Paradise Bridge, where a Blackbird pinks an alarm. Herb Robert and Garlic Mustard are in flower. Along Mill Street to Ridgemoor Bridge. The water level in the River Lugg is low.

Along the track to the bridge over Ridgemoor Brook. The large tent beside the bridge has been replaced by a wooden structure. Into the boot market. There is, of course, much of the same stuff as every year. I was not going to grow leeks this year but a pot of seedlings for £1 tempts me. The stallholder tells me he had a lot of tomato plants earlier but some East Europeans bought the lot. “It’s because they eat properly”, he reckons, “not like our youngsters who just want McDonalds”. A Skylark sings high above the cereal crop at the end of the market and a Mallard flies over.

Back along Mill Street and into Paradise Walk. Bell practice is underway at the Minster. Up The Priory and into the churchyard. Laburnum, Whitebeam and Rowan are in blossom. Over The Grange and into the car park again. Swifts in pairs glide overhead.