The early rounds started with a plunge into a dense fog, which shrouded the Meadows and Downs, reducing visibility to just a few yards and seeming to make sounds that much louder and closer.
A growing chorus of birdsong fills the air – with not much to do this morning, apart from sit in the fog and sing, there is lots to enjo
Most noticeable, the insistent squeaking of Great Tits and ‘giggly’ song of Blue Tits, the sweet notes of Robin and Blackbird and jazzy, syncopated rhythms of Dunnocks.
The lovely, jangling calls of Goldfinches heard, as a flock of 5 or 6 weave through the mist overhead, with the yaffle of a Green Woodpecker heard from the grassland near the Centre, almost drowned out by the croaking of a Carrion Crow on the roof
A stroll out to the new land, where a Sparrowhawk bursts out of the fog, before disappearing behind a hedgerow. Nearby, in the abandoned quarry, a powerful smell of marzipan, from a bank covered in flowering Winter Heliotrope – a rather scruffy pink flower (and one of the first to bloom each year) with an amazing scent.
As the spring approaches, other leaves and flowers are also starting to appear. Along dry stone walls, fresh green Cleavers forms a dense carpet, with the distinctive leaves of Cowslips and Ox-eye Daisies scattered among the meadows. Here and there, ‘islands’ of dark green, curly Crow Garlic can be seen – the leaves when crushed give off a powerful Garlic scent.
Germander Speedwell is in bloom with it’s pretty blue and white flowers, while in the hedgerows, the silvery seeds of Old Man’s Beard sparkle with drops of dew.
By the time I opened the Castle, the sky was deep blue and some glorious sunshine made the bright yellow Mohican of a Goldcrest in the trees just outside the Castle blaze like gold