Firstly, the buzzard I saw this morning and I would like to congratulate Helen Macdonald on winning Costa Book of the Year 2014 for her wonderful book, H is for Hawk. I enjoyed reading it very much, even though at times it was quite tough. It is very intense, sometimes exhausting, occasionally slightly irritating. At times, the author seems to be incapable getting a grip on life. She is overwhelmingly broken by the loss of her beloved father, and is dealing with a new, challenging love in her life - Mabel, her goshawk. But she brings it all together to produce a great portrait of our precious countryside, the fabulous bird, as well as an insight into the tortured life of T H White. It's an interesting mix!
To watch the weather forecasts over the past day or so, I had expected to wake up to a world of white this morning. No such luck. However, the sky is blue, the sun is shining and we have our own version of snow in the wood - the snowdrops are up and out. I couldn't be happier - I love snowdrops. Here are just a few. They are scattered around the wood in drifts of varying size, and this is just the beginning - it's early days - there are lots more to come.
While there are no paths through the wood, except for one track which reaches a small clearing, the deer, and other wild animals, have made their own pathways, which weave between the trees and through the bracken. They are really rather magical.
The track stops here, by the gamekeepers' lookout This is where the miserable creatures sit with their guns and an unfair advantage over their exquisite prey.
There is a lovely light in the wood today. On the south side, most of the trees are silver birch and their bark gleams in the sunlight.
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