Our local house sparrow population has boomed this year. They seem to have been turning out fledglings at a regular rate since April and even now, as we approach October, there are still a few youngsters whirring their wings to get fed. At my parents house in Beaminster the house martins made a late decisionContinue reading “Sparra’s”
Monthly Archives: September 2014
Indian Summer
For many years I believed the term Indian Summer was derived from the sub-continent. Where light and dark take an equal share of the day and leave little time for grey. Dusk is so brief that bad light could end a day’s cricket before the sun had even set. I felt slightly disappointed to learnContinue reading “Indian Summer”
The Deathcap
The source of the poison that ended the life and reign of Emperor Claudius in AD 54 is much debated. Whether through tainted food or the dealings of his double-crossing physician, what is without argument is that Claudius suffered a slow, painful death. A popular belief is that he was poisoned by a mushroom, andContinue reading “The Deathcap”
Bales
The autumn equinox is still a fortnight away and yet everything seems to be where it should. The mornings are late, dew laden and chilly but by lunchtime the insects are buzzing with the vigour of summer. Chiffchaffs and willow warblers are passing through but clearing their throats as they do and in a lightContinue reading “Bales”
Hornets
An early autumn walk in the woods is almost eerily silent. The songsters – blackcap, garden warbler and blackbird – have either gone quiet or simply gone. Instead there is the quiet pipe of long tailed tits and busy flit of goldcrests working the canopy. Only the wistful robin offers more than a couple ofContinue reading “Hornets”
Kevin Parr 