Cold Bright & Quiet

I say goodbye to Carole, and begin the walk home. It’s cold, bright and quiet, and the first thing to break the silence is a jay, calling from high in a tree. I wander on - less attentive for a while, until the unmistakeable call of the greenfinch brings me back into focus. It’s up there! Just the other side of the hedge, a bright green signal in the sun, then it’s off across the fields.

I turn onto the farm tracks, shoulders relaxing, pace slowing. As I approach a bend in the lane - everything happens at once, and in a ten second space of time I see and hear, greenfinch, chaffinch, blackbird, blue tit, kestrel, dunnock, robin, and the familiar laugh of the green woodpecker. I feel like I could stand here forever, sights and sounds to die for, but the moment passes and I carry on.

The tracks are peaceful, just me, the birds, one or two walkers, a van and a car. The van passes considerately, and the car is driven dangerously fast down the narrow lane. It always is - and now I’m familiar with it I can be safely out of the way in good time.

With that done, the peace returns, and I wander on, pigeons and magpies keeping watch. I’m almost at the end of the track when something precious flashes in front of me. A pair of goldfinches stop briefly about a metre away. I marvel at their beauty, and they wonder why on earth is this old man staring at us? Before things get awkward they depart, and I finish my walk, noticing the buds of a magnolia - straining into pink.

Written immediately on arrival back at the house this morning, in the hope I capture something of the essence of the walk.