Escaping the noise.

At the moment my house is basically a construction site, due to the imminent failure of our boiler. This means the entire central heating and radiators have to be changed, the carpets are upturned and there are holes in the floors and walls. From 9am till 5pm everyday the walls echo and vibrate to the sound of drills and hammers and other manly tools. Still, it's for the better and i'll take any excuse to escape the commotion and stress and retreat to the fields and relax with a book.

 

As much as i would love to take my book over Belvedere fields, it would be impractical, not because of the temperature, it's actually quite pleasent, but because of the ever strengthening wind. My walk yesterday was an exciting one, the insects are becoming more active, Bumblebees hummed low to the ground, the odd butterfly flapping irratically over the tufts of long grass. I have always thought that each season has it's own smell, it seems strange but they do. Winter smells very fresh and makes your eyes water, in Summer you can smeel the dry arid heat, in Autumn the musty, damp stench of the rotting vegetation and Spring smells sweet and purfumed, wafting about lazily in the gentle breeze. Lately that familier cheery smell of Spring seems to be returning, ever so slightly to these fields. 

 

As the Water Treatment Plant came into view so did a great number of Swallows, swooping and diving to catch the clouds of midges, the meadow pipits flirting beneath them in the grass. To the right of the path 2 Grey Partridges suddenly appeared from the scrub and flew off back towards Point 3 and the fields beyond.

 

I walked to Point 5 with no sign of the Kingfisher, past the body of the Fox and stopped to scan the field. At the opposite end 2 birds glided around the outskirts, at first i thought they were Crows but they looked unusually large, despite my distant view point, but i will keep a note of them and hopefully in the future can confrm if any Ravens are present.

                                    
                                      Some Fungi, growing out of the Manure around Point 3