Thursday 12 November 2009

Another lovely day..

...so far, although black clouds on the horizon suggest it is only temporary. TFE says that he always knows when it is a nice day because I do a post about it - so here is another one for you TFE! If you read yesterday's comments you will find that he has given a foolproof way of finding the crock of gold from one of the "little people"; I am keeping my eye open for one each time I pass Toadstool Town under the scots pines.
It was a trip to Tesco morning, always a pleasure as the drive is such a lovely one and only six or seven miles. It started well as I drove out of the gate on to the lane - there in front of me was a deer. It was taking dainty steps up the centre of the lane and I drove very slowly behind it for two or three hundred yards when suddenly, over the brow of a little hill, a lady with two dogs came into view. The deer stopped. I stopped. There was a moment of indecision and then, light as air the deer turned sideways, cleared a five barred gate with ease, and trotted off down the field. What a joy, and it set the tone for the whole journey.
Once up on the top road the view across the Vale of York was like a Sisley painting - muted colours, trees in heavy mist, slight rainbow colours where the sun touched, Then a moment later the sight of a Black Grouse perched incongruously in a silver birch tree, pecking at the buds.
All that in the space of a couple of miles, and I never thought to take my camera.
It wasn't finished yet. A few hundred yards on and there was a Sparrow Hawk perched on the topmost branch of a tree, the sun catching his foliage (think it was a male as it was quite small and the female is larger) looking majestic. And within a short distance a kestrel hovering over some small, unsuspecting prey below.
Calling in on a friend after the Tesco visit, she told me I had just missed seeing a Bullfinch in her garden - that would have been an extra treat. Shortly afterwards a jay landed under some oak trees outside her house, looking for acorns no doubt.
Sorry I haven't got a single photograph of any of these events, but I can assure you that they are imprinted on my mind - to see so much in such a short journey. Tess and I have just been down the lane for our walk and the only thing we spotted were the nine pheasants who seem to spend all day round the feed trough for the heifers. When they hear us coming they scuttle off into the hedge bottom - wait quietly behind a bush and within a couple of minutes they are back.
As I predicted, in the time it has taken me to type this post the sky has clouded in and rain is falling - fine, gentle rain at present but enough to go outside and fetch in the washing from the clothes line. Have a nice day- must rush........

18 comments:

Gwil W said...

I think TFE over the sea on the emerald isle normally gets the weather a day or so before in Yorkshire you so he'll mostly know ;)
we've had really good weather in Vienna today - best for ages!

Reader Wil said...

You write like a painter with a clewar and beautiful description of everything you see! You are so lucky to see a deer jumping a fence!! Thanks for the tour!

Totalfeckineejit said...

I feel like I am vicariously living in the North of England,Wonderful posts, Weaver, so full of nature.And to see a deer leap a 5 bar gate is a rare treat.Wow! It takes me a full five minutes to negotiate one myself these days.i think my theory on the eather may be adrift as there was a rain storm so violent here this morning , we had to raise our voices to be heard above it! Hope you don't get it tomorrow.Ps. One day I'll tell you of the time my Dad caught a Leprechaun.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Poet - I always imagine that places like Vienna - in the centre of a huge land mass - get much colder weather than we do here, surrounded as we are by water. Is this so?

The Weaver of Grass said...

Reader wil = yes, seeing it jump the gate really made my day. There are quite a lot of roe deer round us but we rarely see them as they are such shy creatures.

The Weaver of Grass said...

TFE - we have got the rain already - it came in at about 3pm.
I have to tell you that I did climb a 5 barred gate on a walk round the fields yesterday - I couldn't get the catch open so had no alternative - I can't say how long it took me but I did it with a lot of trepidation and was quite relieved when my feet reached terra firma on the other side!
Can#t wait to hear the story of your Dad and the leprechaun! (see you have given him a capital letter - hope writing it in lower case doesn't incur its wrath.

Heather said...

What wonderful treats you had on your trip to Tesco. I once caught a fleeting glimpse of a deer when we were driving through the Forest of Dean - a rare treat indeed. Hope you have battened down the hatches after the forecast for the weekend.

Susan said...

I always love your posts. They brighten my day!
If you stop by my blog, there is a little something waiting for you here:
http://rewovenlife.blogspot.com/2009/11/honest-scrap.html

Bovey Belle said...

The best things in life definitely ARE free! What a lovely nature-drive you had. We had TFE's rain - and how - by the time my son came back from the gym it was all his friend's car could do to get through the flood at the bottom of the hill.

Penny said...

Sounds lovely.
The 8 roasting chooks are for my youngest daughters second wedding tomorrow, in 39C heat, in her garden, luckly in the morning..
The foal is not well and visiting the vet in Adelaide, Nothing is ever easy!

Cloudia said...

Your apt words painted a lovely picture! Thank you.


Aloha, Friend!


Comfort Spiral

The Weaver of Grass said...

Heather - thank you for the weather warning - at present the forecast seems pretty haywire to me. We are having pure days of sunshine with rain coming in about half past three in the afternoon. So I assume it is saving it all up for the weekend.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for the comment, Susan, I shall pop over and see you soon.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Bovey Belle - being in the lee of the Pennines, on the eastern side, we do tend to get less rain - although sometimes it surpasses itself - we did have three inches in forty eight hours earlier in the year. But if our farm floods then heaven help the rest of them round here as we are at 700feet.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Penny - do hope the wedding goes off well and the temperature is kind to you - and that the food is all delicious.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for the comment Cloudia

Golden West said...

Clothes lines are definitely underrated - I wish they'd make a comeback here, but, alas, most people don't have a yard big enough.

mrsnesbitt said...

Was thinking about you on Friday as we passed close on our way from Pately Bridge to Bedale! Looks possible I will have to come to Bedale in the next couple of weeks...fancy a cuppa?

Dxx