We’re nearly half way through the year and I am at once loving the long days and also frantically trying to stop the year from running away from me.
The end of this month certainly seems to have crept up on me despite my attempts at proper planning so this is being written rather late in the day and I apologise in advance for any mistakes or incoherence. If there’s anything too glaring, please let me know!
Right, first things first, at the start of the month I finished one of my long term crochet projects. Since it has now arrived in its new home I can share photos at last:
This was a house warming gift for a friend who has just bought her first house and I’m rather pleased with it, even if I do think it’s a little lopsided.
I really should learn that if I want to learn a new crochet technique then it might go more smoothly if I’m not also trying to make an item I’ve never made before but I’m not sure I’d have as much fun. Besides, as my friend said, what lovingly made gift hasn’t been sworn at at least once during the process!
The biggest crochet project continues to grow as fast as I can manage. That said I have already started a new project because I am not the sort of person who can do just one thing at a time. This one is for me thought, rather than being a gift, so I can share more of the progress. However as next month’s blog posts include one about exactly what crochet I’ve been doing in the last quarter I’m going to leave the details of the new project for that.
Although it means I’m knackered come the evening, I’ve really been enjoying getting out into the woods as soon as dawn creeps over the horizon. Not only does it mean I often don’t see a single other person but I’ve had some wonderful encounters with foxes, deer, rabbits, owls, and even a vole or two. The best thing, though, is that I’ve found a way to fully appreciate bird song again.
My progressive hearing loss means I often can’t tell the different birds apart, certainly not as easily as I used to (although the way the wrens shout I think I’ll be able to identify them when nearly everything else is gone). I’d been trying to find a way to be happy with what I could hear rather than sad about what I was losing and failing quite miserably when I saw various people I follow on twitter mention the Merlin app. This is one of many apps that offer bird identifiction but, unlike most of the rest, it doesn’t simply tell you the name of the bird that is closest/loudest. Instead it gives you a full list of everything it’s picking up in real time, highlighting the name of the bird/s on the list that are singing as it recording.
It’s a game changer. Not only has it helped me to retune my ears to the parts of each birds songs that I can pick up but it’s identified bird song I didn’t know. I can tell what’s around me as I walk and goodness me but wasn’t I missing a lot. There are far more birds in the wood than I thought!
Over the last week, having recorded at the same times and places in the wood each morning, the app has picked up the following birds at least three separate times, each on more than one day1:
Magpie, Rook, Long tailed tit, Blackbird, Robin, Black Cap, Goldfinch, Ring neck pheasant, Chiff chaff, Great Tit, Wren, Stock Dove, Nuthatch, Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Wood Pigeon, Coal tit, Chaffinch, Blue tit, Goldcrest, Collared Dove, Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Carrion Crow, Greater Whitethroat, Dunnock, Yellow Hammer, Jackdaw, Blue tit, White (pied) wagtail, Gray Wagtail, Redwing and Lesser Redpoll (which I think is quite rare)
That’s 32 birds not counting the owl, buzzard pair, and kestrel I’ve seen with my own two eyes. It’s all rather wonderful! Plus the app is available for both iOS and android and you can find out more about it here if you’d like to give it a try too.
Writing-wise, having managed to get this out today I can happily say that I finished and shared everything I planned to this month. The links to all my blog posts for the month are below and the Herding the Words update will tell you everything you could possibly want to know about what I’m up to with my writing at the moment.
Living with Hearing Loss (my newest blog series)
Where Stories Come True (the newest Flashes of Feathers tale)
In terms of clearing my parent’s house, much progress has been made in reducing the contents of the house and boxing up the things that are being kept. This is all good and making me feel much more positive about everything. But most of my mornings are currently being spent fighting brambles. Apart from the neighbours directly next door, who keep their garden so neat I’m pretty certain most of the wildlife is afraid to enter it, the rest of the gardens which back onto ours (and there are six) are owned by people who have lived there for many years and have a more relaxed, wildlife friendly, attitude to gardening.
This is an attitude that, were we not wanting to sell the house, I would be happy to emulate. However I’m fairly certain that most would be purchasers, especially in this part of the country, do not want the flower borders to look like a miniature versions of the thorn hedge that surrounded the castle in which Sleeping Beauty slept.
So to battle with the rapacious vines I must go. Although I’m using secateurs rather than a sword I’d happily take a suit of armour for protection if I could get my hands on one. As it is I’ve already worn out one pair of leather gauntlets and am road testing a variety of protective sleeves in an attempt not to end up with arms that look like I lost a fight with a clowder of cats.
I have to say that the brambles tenacity would be praiseworthy if it wasn’t so damn exhausting but at least I get to spend half my days out in the fresh air. And just in case anyone is worried, I know exactly where all the birds are nesting in the garden and have made sure I left those areas well alone.
At least the sheer volume of greenery and rubbish I’ve shifted over the month has left me feeling that I’d earned my bank holiday treat, which was to take the train to London to spend the first two days of the long weekend with a group of friends, two of whom I hadn’t seen in person since 2019, celebrating a 40th birthday. It was just what the doctor ordered, full of fun and laughter, food and drink, cake and gifts, and just setting the world to rights in the company of people who accept you for exactly who you are.
And, because I am me and worry about being late and delayed trains, I ended up arriving three and a half hours before we were all due to meet. So I had a little tourist moment all by myself and went to visit Southwark Cathedral:
As you can see from the photos, it’s a beautiful building, and I spent a hour sat in the sunlit churchyard marvelling at how peaceful it felt despite being surrounded by Borough Market on all sides. And yes, that is William Shakespeare on the bench. Given what I observed whilst sat out there, he’s an absolute selfie magnet!
It’s definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the vicinity although do make sure you don’t do what I did and spend so long in the garden you went out before any signs went up and the lay staff don’t realise you are still there so when you go to leave you find the cathedral filled with wedding guests. Luckily I scurried across the nave and got out before the bride reached the doors for her walk down the aisle but it was a near thing!
Lastly, as always, I’ve drawn a tarot card from my Wildwood deck to give us a small insight into what June might bring:
Do you feel the need for a bit more magic in your life? Have you been too busy to give yourself a chance to find wonder in something, no matter how small? Are you feeling unfulfilled and wishing for a new challenge? The Shaman is here to tell you to make it happen. Whether it’s travelling somewhere you’ve never been before, taking a few minutes to look for the new in a familiar place, getting a book out of the library on an unfamiliar subject, or finding a way to begin learning a new skill, June is the month to do it.
So, until next month, dear readers …
May the longest days of the year illuminate the wonder in our world and light the path to greater fulfilment for us all.
I thought this was the best way to weed out any confusion over similar sounds on the part of the app. Not sure it’s entirely scientific but hey!