Yesterday I went to the end of the road and down the back lane to where a small track runs off into the undergrowth. The path was sticky after so much rain, but solid still, bouncy underfoot. I walked along the back of the houses until I came to the woods, then turned down theContinue reading “11/01/23 – A falling down fort and an early moon”
Tag Archives: trees
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 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 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”
Mawddach Residency – DAY 8
This morning the world behind the window went monochrome, the clouds gathering dark in the corners then blowing to fill the sky. Cat came in from sketching and the rain started; heavy, blurring, hailstones whipping the glass. The dark clouds were gone, only grey in their place. The mountains were swallowed by mist, the estuaryContinue reading “Mawddach Residency – DAY 8”
7/11/22 – Water like Guiness
Last week my brain was full of words, so I stepped outside for a walk. I was staying halfway up a wooded valley, on a steep hill, and the path I took went down. The sky was blurred out by beach trees and turning leaves and I could hear the river rushing down in theContinue reading “7/11/22 – Water like Guiness”
30/10/22 – Copper
Just a walk around the block today. So many of the leaves are still yellow, not yet red or orange, and the air feels mild still. I’m looking forward to the biting chill of winter, frosty breath and big scarves and knuckles that crack with the cold. But for now, the virginia creeper is mottledContinue reading “30/10/22 – Copper”
Bonnie Radcliffe 