Winter Dawn

Winter's daybreak is ungrateful,
reluctant to shed the dark
enveloping mantle
in favour of the
jewel of a frosty
December dawn.

Gathering Gloom

Feathery soft,orange tinted
clouds gathered at dusk,
providing an ample back drop
to the alveoli like fine branches
of the bare trees silhouetted
against the coloured sky.
In the distance rain could be seen,
falling like a fine grey curtain
from dark clouds on the horizon.
Winter with all it's glory had
painted another masterpiece.

Going Home

A faint pink streak appeared in the sky at dusk today,Starlings were flying overhead in small silent groups,heading towards their nightly roost on the nearby mere.
A Pheasant strolled confidentally up the lane ahead of me and a Weasel jumped effortlessly & silently into the sodden undergrowth as I walked passed.
It felt like I wasn't the only one who was going home.

Blue Moon

From out
of a
delicate,
frosted pale
blue sky,
hovering above
the rosy
pink hues
of a
winter
sunrise,
a full moon
hides behind
the fine
silhouetted
branches
of the
dormant
silver birch
tree.

Bountiful Berries

The dark
glossy
lustre
of
evergreen
leaves
support seasonal
bountiful berries,
glistening,
reflective
stoneless
fruits
in warm,
rich & deep
colours
of shiny red
&
gleaming orange.

Golden Rushes

Without warning
a weak wintry sun
illuminates the
scene to reveal
a golden
swaying sea
of fine
feathered
fronds.

Sea of Grey

Tiny Islands of aged
sandstone appeared
with every passing minute
as the gently,
seeping, ebbing
grey tide revealed
a sedimentary layered
history before our eyes.

Sunshine

Summer warmth
melts from
within your
precious heart
as crystal clear
rain drops
gently flow
the length
of your
golden
petals.

Autumn Fruits

Brilliant
crimson orbs
of fruit
escape
along
branches
of
warm
seasonal
colours.

Autumn's Diary

Golden leaves,
like tiny pages
from an old diary,
days and weeks of
events and occasions
falling into a
coloured
carpeted
catalogue
of
memories
upon the
forest floor.

The Moon Bird

In the beat
of a wing,
with a
feathered flight
of freedom,
you
slip past the
fullness of the moon
and create a
magical moment,
forever portrayed
against the
lightening lunar sky
of a brand new day.

The Leaf

Weakened sunlight
filters through
the dried
skeletal
remains
of your
lifeline veins,
as
decay
creeps quietly
towards winter.

The Roost

Soon there were thousands of birds flying together in a huge mass of movement like one creature,as they turned back on themselves the mass grew intensely dark and then with a flick of wings undersides glowed pink!
Suddenly we became aware of an intruder,a new shape in the pack.A Sparrowhawk had infiltrated the flock and was splitting the mass in search of a kill!
Time and time again it flew into the hoards of birds until almost flying on it's back it grabbed a bird and descended onto the ground,there would be one less for the roost tonight!
The flock by now was huge and as it again flew overhead we could hear the air rushing past through millions of feathers,then the whole mass flew high over for one last time before funnelling downwards in a huge spiral with such force that the reeds swayed back and forth as if being hit by a tornado.

Then silence fell as the birds settled in for another night on the mere.

Dusk

Dusk falls
into the
silence
of the
night,
dark
shadows
lengthen
amidst a
nocturnal
masterpiece
upon a
canvas
of
sky

Robin

I cracked open
the window
to hear the
sweet sad
song falling
from the
tree,
alongside
a score of
descending notes
and a
waterfall
of coloured leaves.

Ode to an Autumnal Acer

A scarlet portrait
of a
short lived
beauty
flows
through the
droplets
of your
fine
feathered
fingers
and
weary
withering
veins.

This Day

Can I have
this day
again?
this day
with
no shower
of rain

this day
the sun
shone
from
dewy dawn
to
delicate dusk

this day
of calm
and still
and
nature's
thrill

this day
to recall
when winter
squall
will
blow and
chill.

this day,
mine
to keep
in
memory deep
where if
I sleep
I can
have
this day
again

Can I?

The Old Plane Tree

Steadfastly splendid
with
bulging boughs
ravaged and bent
by
winter winds.

Languidly leaning
your
gnarled trunk
knotted and twisted
as
decades pass.

Agelessly arboreal
your
ancient place
secure in history
for
future years.

The Ploughed Field.

Dark furrowed earth,
your measured lines give
new growth & new life
year after year.

Brown Pheasants skulk
around your hedged edges
monotonously pecking
at stray chaff & seed.

Dazzling white Seagulls
wheel on the wind
rising and falling
with frivolous spectacle.

Glossy purple Crows
stroll menacingly
along deep ridges
solemnly searching.

Shy Partridge huddle
in camouflaged groups
visible only as heads
rise above steep soil.

Seasons repeat,
crops grow & wither
sunshine then rain
and life moves on.

Sunset.

Dusk falls
amid purple hue,
skeins of geese
an amazing view.

Dark silhouettes
edge the scene,
peace and awe
perfectly serene.

Wispy clouds
drift slowly by,
an amber glow
holds the sky.

Colours darken
to the ground,
as silence falls
without a sound.

Night gathers
feathers in place,
the geese descend
without a trace.

Fungi.

Button or flat,
bracket or cap,
spore and folklore
fascinating,
funky,
fungi.

Gnome to sit on,
edible or poison,
gilled and veiled,
mysterious,
magical,
mushroom.

Hen Harrier

Eerie far away cries echo
over the vast expanse of water,
a ghostly white shape appears
from the mountain beyond
and your long graceful

wings dazzle against

the overall grey

murkiness of the morning.

The Merlin and the Moor.

Twisting and turning at

great speed while

skimming low over the
rain sodden heather
that clings to the sides
of the mountains like great

purple patchwork patterns,

the steel grey
pointed wings of a

Merlin flash close by.

Dragon breath clouds
drift slowly along
the tops of aged rocks,
at times shrouding
the whole mountain
in a huge blanket
of grey misty droplets.

Silence is the only
sound in the bleak
desolate dampness
of the rain soaked
moor.

Summer's End.

Summer is leaving us in a roar of unseasonal wind and cool slanting rain.
Grey clouds scuttle across dark heavy skies.
Trees creak and lean losing new green leaves instead of the bright colours of the usual fall.
Insects struggle to collect life giving pollen and nectar while flowers bend and droop with the sheer weight of heavy raindrops upon their soggy but still wonderfully defiant coloured heads.
Seasonal birds search the dull and laden skies in preparation for soon to be undertaken long journeys.
The sounds of summer are drowned out by torrential downpours preceded by a thunderous calamity of disturbed air.
Summer has left,the much anticipated and longed for season has slipped away over the edge of autumn.

Poppy

Memories
flutter like flowers
your
red jackets
lie like a
crimson carpet
on the
sweet dark earth
below
scarlet petals
gone for
another year
as time

and the

seasons
slowly

move
on.