Days like these
Somewhere along the way it would seem that May has left us and it really was such an incredible May. Full of sunshine and warmth, the days long and dry. Suffolk is quite breathtaking right now, its skies are wide and blue and the dark grey of winter seems so long ago to be almost forgotten. The acid yellow of the rape crop has already faded and the wheat is beginning to ripen, the cherries on my tree are beginning to blush - everything seems three weeks earlier than last year.
Today the children and I set off early to the woods, our mission to gather the elderflowers for this year's batch of cordial. The wood is dry and dusty, the earth cracked from too many weeks without rain but it still feels full of life, that slow, still summer feeling has not reached it yet. The birds sing busily and as we round each corner there is rustling in the undergrowth and we have that feeling of pairs of eyes watching us amongst the dappled light, the deer stand statue still and the dancing sun plays tricks so we cannot be certain that it is they. As we reach the clearing we leave the path in search of the best looking flowers, wading through bramble into the open area were the trees are still young and the best elderflower grows. Our ankles got scratched by the bramble already rampaging across the land but we were victorious.
Our basket filled quickly and we walked slowly home, only 11am but already we could feel the heat of the sun upon us, the oldest dog a little slower as the midday sun grew stronger.
How I love days like these.
Somewhere along the way it would seem that May has left us and it really was such an incredible May. Full of sunshine and warmth, the days long and dry. Suffolk is quite breathtaking right now, its skies are wide and blue and the dark grey of winter seems so long ago to be almost forgotten. The acid yellow of the rape crop has already faded and the wheat is beginning to ripen, the cherries on my tree are beginning to blush - everything seems three weeks earlier than last year.
Today the children and I set off early to the woods, our mission to gather the elderflowers for this year's batch of cordial. The wood is dry and dusty, the earth cracked from too many weeks without rain but it still feels full of life, that slow, still summer feeling has not reached it yet. The birds sing busily and as we round each corner there is rustling in the undergrowth and we have that feeling of pairs of eyes watching us amongst the dappled light, the deer stand statue still and the dancing sun plays tricks so we cannot be certain that it is they. As we reach the clearing we leave the path in search of the best looking flowers, wading through bramble into the open area were the trees are still young and the best elderflower grows. Our ankles got scratched by the bramble already rampaging across the land but we were victorious.
Our basket filled quickly and we walked slowly home, only 11am but already we could feel the heat of the sun upon us, the oldest dog a little slower as the midday sun grew stronger.
How I love days like these.
Comments
Pomona x
Happy foraging and elderflower cordial making.
Nina x
~Nancy
Yes, Ms Poshyarns, when are you going to sort your book out?
The path is there, you just need to follow it.
TA
Alison