Yesterday I was tired and more than anything, I wanted to swim. I headed for the little bay next to the main sands but on the other, quieter side of the harbour wall. There was a huge digger on the ramp down to it, along with workmen in high viz jackets. I could see theContinue reading “22/12/22 – Low Tide”
Category Archives: Nature Diary
19/12/22 – Snow melt
Now the rain is melting the snow, but a few days ago everything was ice. The pavements were ridged with glass, the roads thick with compressed snow and criss-crossed with tyre marks. I went again and again to the woods, down through the tree tunnel, where the branches curve over the sky at every levelContinue reading “19/12/22 – Snow melt”
11/12/22 – Frozen birdbath bubbles
This morning I took a hammer to the bird bath. I started with a wooden spoon to break the ice and let a robin drink, but the ice wasn’t a crackable layer as it had been before; it was solid, bubbles suspended below the frozen surface. I used a hammer to break up the iceContinue reading “11/12/22 – Frozen birdbath bubbles”
4/12/22 – Ghost leaves
Back at home and there are ghost leaves in the garden. The green flesh has yellowed and fallen away, leaving the intricate web systems exposed. Their skeletons are more beautiful than when they were fully fleshed. The Japanese maple in the corner is rustling with a fiery orange red, and the grass is tall, halfContinue reading “4/12/22 – Ghost leaves”
Mawddach Residency – DAY 14
Our last day! Woke up early to watch the light come. In the night I’d heard rain on the roof, hammering at the covered skylight, but by the time I was sat by the window the day was dry. The world was blue black and slowly, the light trickled in, sky lightening first, then water.Continue reading “Mawddach Residency – DAY 14”
Mawddach Residency – DAY 13
Our last full day at Mawddach! We swam in the blue cold, sky rippling, water lapping, out to Jeff, the yellow buoy in the bay. The soles of my feet ached with the cold and the sky was big and, as we struck out, a heron flew overhead, close, neck stretched, circling. Later I wentContinue reading “Mawddach Residency – DAY 13”
Mawddach Residency – DAY 12
Today we swam from the steps, walked down into slapping water, opaque and almost milky. Somehow the cold clutched tighter with the sudden descent, but the waves were low, and we swam out to Jeff, buoy number two. Emily had to be forsaken for the day. When we got back everything disappeared in grey. LowContinue reading “Mawddach Residency – DAY 12”
Mawddach Residency – DAY 11
Today it rained and the sky was grey and the water was grey and all of it was moving all the time, the water rippling, the air swelling, the clouds filling, the mountains dancing back and forth as the clouds fell back, pushed forward, fell back again. I swam in the morning, alone. The tideContinue reading “Mawddach Residency – DAY 11”
Mawddach Residency – DAY 10
Today my alarm went off in the middle of the night. But it wasn’t the middle of the night it was swimming time. Straight into costume and towel poncho, swim shoes on, down to the beach. It was still mostly black, the water splashed with light, the sky faintly bluer than the water. We wadedContinue reading “Mawddach Residency – DAY 10”
Mawddach Residency – DAY 9
Today I woke at 5.45 because that was the time of the tide. But it was still black outside and rain was battering down. My bed was cozy and I rolled over, went back to sleep. The rest of the day it rained. The sky was thick with cloud, the mountains disappearing, shadows of grey,Continue reading “Mawddach Residency – DAY 9”
Bonnie Radcliffe 