Ramble by the Severn

By Rhiannonw

Tue, 12 Jun 2018
  • 1809 reads
8 comments
 

Pink wild roses, and fields of ox-eyes,
bees drinking from purple comfrey,
and poppies in the corn.

Picnic ‘gallery seat’ on the river bank…
entertainment laid on –
swallows flit around and above
hoovering flies
and sand martins seem to arise
from below our legs (nesting in the bank?).
‘Was that a flash of peacock blue?’ as
something speeds across the water.
‘Is it …?’ ‘Yes, it is!’
then it fast-glides back and for
and we look down at fuller view
of wide brilliant sapphire back*.
‘I think there’s another further up –
they’re together now …
back into the trees opposite,
with a fish, I think.’

Walk on up the river,
up the valley side,
down into a dingle
by an old water-mill site,
up and on and down into another darker dingle,
out and down again further on,
along its stream a little way, up again, and soon:
circle complete.
(7/6/18)
* kingfisher

Certificate U
Poem
Countryside explorations
Nature

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

sounds idyllic! I love those (very rare) times when I've seen a kingfisher

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thank you. Yes, when it's pointed out, I'm usually just noticing the bird too late to see even the flash of bright blue, so it was lovely to see them a little bit more clearly, and often. Lovely flowers still around. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

What a gorgeous spot!

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Yes, indeed! Thank you! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

How lucky to see a kingfisher! I'm like you and always looking in the wrong direction. I'm glad you got to see TWO :0) You must still have lots of insects to have all these birds?  We were reminiscing about how aweful the midges and mosquitos were when we moved here 15 years ago. There are fewer now. But also far fewer swallows and martins. Also WAY  fewer bumblebees. It is comforting to know that there are still wild places untroubled. Thankyou for your lovely poem

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thanks. The second was less clear, and my husband saw more of it than I did. We have fewer swallows where we live than when we first moved here,I think largely because some old barns were renovated/made into flats. So, I was delighted in those martins last week! (Apparently swallows and swifts are very late arriving this year, something to do with poor weather further south than Britain) That is why I was fascinated to see the busy bees on the comfrey. Not so easy to take photo though - they move off so quickly! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Rhiannon,

I'm so glad you got to see the kingfisher. They'e so quick you were lucky to photograph this beautiful bird. It must have been such a glorious day with all that nature to look at.

I enjoyed reading your poem, you captured those lovely photos perfectly.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Thanks, Jenny. Glad you enjoyed. But it was the bees visiting the flowers that I was trying to catch in a photo. No hope of catching a kingfisher in a photo in flight - not by me anyway! Thanks again, Rhiannon