As I walked along the meadow paths, a strong chilly easterly breeze blew me along, creating a flow of changing ripples and colour across the flowers and grasses.
Sheets of the pale lilac Pale Flax, open and turned towards the sun competing for my admiration with the swathes of white Ox-Eye Daisies and the yellows of Hay Rattle and Bulbous Buttercup.
Scattered amongst this glorious sight the delicate cone-shaped pink flower of Common Spotted Orchids, joined in places by, the superficially similar, Southern Marsh Orchid.
The delicate white umbels of Corky-fruited Water-dropwort captured my attention, the smooth, rigid ribbed stems quite distinctive. As was the strange green of the Adder’s-tongue Ferns, making me stop and admire this small bizarre plant.
Flashing overhead a few Swallows and a couple of House Martins, while the songs of Common Whitethroat, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Wren and Chiffchaff was to be heard from the Blackthorn hedgerow scrub.
As I walked along the path, which was strewn with a covering of May blossom petals fallen from Hawthorn (well it is June), a Greater Bloody-nose Beetle trundled, and a Devil’s Coach Horse Beetle reared its backend from its position on the huge furry leaves of the Burdock.
A sudden flurry of wings and from the downs where I had just been counting cows and calves, 2 Red-legged Partridges took flight, buzzing low over the wall to land and hide once more in the long grass.
Four chatting Stonechats, a fantastic Houndstongue flower and the Horseshoe Vetch as I came off the hill, while big clumps of Scarlet Pimpernel are splashed across the hill by Tilly Whim.