Wednesday 14 May 2014

Rain storm.

 Late yesterday afternoon we had the most horrendous rain storm.    It lasted for one hour,  an inch of rain fell.    Looking from the window my heart sank.    I had intended to mow the grass and raise the tree canopy on some of the larger specimens, during the week    
 As I walked into the garden this morning  I could hear the cuckoo.      For me, this is a heart stopping moment.   I hold my breath, I cannot afford to miss a single note.     The birds are in decline, I dread the day he no longer calls.   

The sun is shining.........the birds are singing.............it is going to be a beautiful day.
I look across the garden, for a brief moment, just a brief moment, I feel I have died and gone to heaven.   I see the landscape before me, I feel a tremendous sense of wonder........it is a good to be alive day :)

Out in the fields
Together with the birds,
I will be surrounded with mist.

Chora.

14 comments:

  1. We had that very same storm. Eleanor was out walking Archie at the time, you can imagine the state they were both in when they arrived home. How wonderful to hear the cuckoo, it's quite some time since I've heard one.

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    1. How awful.....poor Eleanor and Archie.

      I wait for the cuckoo each year.....I am always so relieved when I hear them.
      For me, they are the essence of summer...........along with the swallows and sky lark.

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  2. The cuckoos have arrived here too. I never tire of hearing them. What is the cause of their demise there? Is it habitat or are they being persecuted elsewhere? They call them Rain Crows here. They seem to call more before or after a rain, so says an old wives tale. It is rainy and cooler here. Love the cool, am a little tired of rain. I won't complain tho because I know it won't be long and I will be praying for rain. ;) Am I never satisfied? Enjoy your wonderful day. Aahhh

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    1. Hi Lisa,

      Loss of habitat and persecution elsewhere......you are right on both counts. They also believe that climate change may be part of it. I know that numbers are decreasing.......

      Are gardeners ever satisfied.....probably not :)

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  3. The call of the Cuckoo is definitely one of the evocative sounds of spring (along with the Nightingale). We were fortunate to hear and watch a Cuckoo flying around whilst in Italy last week but still waiting to hear one close to home.

    Saw my first Swifts today ... one near home and four at my parents where they regularly nest.

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    1. Hi Frank....

      We had Nightingales nearby a few years ago....sadly I have not heard them since :(

      I love Swifts, how wonderful your parents have them at their home. I really envy them.

      Hope you enjoyed Italy ?

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  4. Hi Cheryl
    Lucky you hearing a cuckoo - I don't think I have heard one for a couple of years - the numbers of house martins seem to be declining around here too. I have just been reading about the hunters in Malta taking pot shots at our Swallows - I just don't get their mindset at all. Sounds like you had a heavenly time in the garden - days like that make life worth living don't they
    Elaine

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  5. Hi Elaine,

    Migratory birds have such an ordeal trying to get back to UK nesting sites. Many do not make it due to weather, fragility or as you rightly say hunters. It is so sad....like you I do not understand why.

    Beautiful days, like today, make life worth living.....and help you forget all that is wrong with the world :)

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  6. We are under a flash flood watch with heavy rains expected overnight. I also worry about the birds and listen with an even more grateful ear this year. I occasionally hear a cuckoo in our woods but have never seen him.

    I'll bet the playhouse is a wonderful place in light rain. Not so much when it rains an inch an hour. Hope your are over your cold.

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    1. Flash floods seem to be normal now....you hear of them world wide.
      I do hope all will be well in your area.

      I have never seen a cuckoo in the wild but I am so very grateful that I hear him.

      Yes absolutely.....I have sat with the children reading in the tree house, as the rain gently falls on the garden. It is delightful.

      I am much better, how kind of you to ask.

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  7. I know that feeling of 'good to be alive' well, The call of the cuckoo is a magical thing - I'm fortunate that I hear it most days when I'm up on Blackamoor. I know there are at least two up there. I hope you get some sunshine to dry up the grass and trees so that you can do the things you planned.

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    1. It is the most magical thing Rowan. How wonderful that you hear them on Blackamoor each day, you are truly fortunate :) I often wonder if my Grand-children will hear them when they reach my age......I do hope so.

      I am aiming to start work on the trees at the weekend.......the grass, well, I think that will have to wait, it is just too wet .........

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  8. The photo with the sun shining through your garden looks like paradise! It's been raining the last few days here, too, but thankfully, not the flooding rain we had a year ago. It's probably just as well I can't plant, because a late frost is in the forecast for the weekend.

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    1. Hi Rose,

      This is the first year I have held back planting....thank goodness I did as we had frosty nights around a week ago. Isn't the weather just a little too crazy ???

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