APRIL: “Old Earth is a pleasure to see In sunshiny cloak of red and green..." (Thomas Carlyle)

Baby berries

“Old Earth is a pleasure to see
In sunshiny cloak of red and green;
The furrow lies fresh; this year will be
As years that are past have been.
Fall gently and still, good corn,
Lie warm in thy earthly bed;
And stand so yellow some morn,
For beast and man must be fed.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)
 
April snow! Last week was glorious and then, at the weekend, we were back to winter! This morning’s dog walk was in glorious sunshine and now it’s snowing – not even an hour after we arrived home! Hey what’s going on up there?

April should be soft, sweet and gentle with light showers spraying through the sunshine and there should be rainbows every day.

Walking the dog. Jess prefers the ditch to the road

 

 
SONG
 
April, April, 
Laugh thy girlish laughter;
Then, the moment after,
Weep thy girlish tears,
April, that mine ears
Like a lover greetest,
If I tell thee, sweetest,
All my hopes and fears.
April, April,
Laugh thy golden laughter,
But, the moment after,
Weep thy golden tears!

William Watson (1858-1935)

Time to throw open the windows and air the quilts over the ledges, to throw away those out-of-date packets and tins and jars and to wipe up their leakages in the cupboard. Both of my grandmothers put up lighter-weight curtains in springtime and changed the winter cushion covers for paler ones. This advertisement on the front page of “The Epworth Bells”, Saturday, April 7^th, 1917,  gives an indication they were following in their mothers’ footsteps:
 
“SPRING CLEANING
For Distinctive Patterns in Lace Curtains, Toilet Covers, Stand Covers, Cushion Covers, good old-bought stock of White Tablecloths, see
AXE’S STORES, BELTON”

April sunshine!

 

But April was not always kind! In the same newspaper, in a section headed “Local Notes and News”, there is this telling tale of potential food shortages, remember this is 1917 and the Great War was raging in Europe,

“This wintry weather has added greatly to the farmers’ difficulties and to the future serious dangers of the food problem. An avalanche of Spring work will very shortly have to be tackled in a seeding season so very limited, both as to the time and available skilled labour. It is hoped the farmers will rise to the occasion and not hesitate to accept the soldier and women help offered.”

Two pictures of our River Forss taken this month by Judith

April at Stempster, this year, began with a beautiful Saturday. The trees for felling were marked and gardening was underway at the front of the house. Some of the cows were out in the field and they had a calf with them. We only spotted one on that day but more have appeared since then.

Some of our trees have had to go, either because they are dead or dying or because more light is needed to allow others to develop. It seemed sad at first, a bit like losing friends, but I’ve learned to see the bigger picture and, when all’s said and done, it’s like pruning to allow for improvement.

The avenue after clearing

In the following days 50+ trees were removed – very handy having an expert son-in-law! More and more light was introduced into that part of the garden and, when I walked down to the bottom of the little wildwood, it felt warm. It’s the first time the sun has been able to work its magic there - even in midsummer – since we came here two years ago.

Sunlight shining through, after thinning the trees

While all this was going on, lots of stones were being removed from under the lawn to finish planting the avenue of beech hedging and to make way for flower beds immediately in front of the house. So many stones! Clemency employed the pickaxe, what else?

We live across the lane from a broch and the imagination can run wild! Who lived on this spot at the time of the broch? Did someone use the stones from an ancient structure to build an earlier Stempster House? Was there a carriage path up to the house? So many questions and so many stories to make up!

The new wishing well in the wood, newly built by Clemency

Weather-wise, walks have been variable through April but always accompanied by the bleating of lambs in the fields surrounding us. This year the shepherding has been so much better than last year. We haven’t seen a single rubber-banded lamb’s tail on this year’s walks. Such a relief as the dogs always want to eat them and they can cause serious intestinal problems for dogs and wild animals. Also, the ewes seem happier and fewer are limping this year.
 
“Nod”
 
  Softly along the road of evening,
    In a twilight dim with rose,
  Wrinkled with age, and drenched with dew
    Old Nod, the shepherd, goes.
 
  His drowsy flock streams on before him,
    Their fleeces charged with gold,
  To where the sun's last beam leans low
    On Nod the shepherd's fold.
 
  The hedge is quick and green with briar,
    From their sand the conies creep;
  And all the birds that fly in heaven
    Flock singing home to sleep.
 
  His lambs outnumber a noon's roses,
    Yet, when night's shadows fall,
  His blind old sheep-dog, Slumber-soon,
    Misses not one of all.
 
  His are the quiet steeps of dreamland,
    The waters of no-more-pain,
  His ram's bell rings 'neath an arch of stars,
    "Rest, rest, and rest again."

Walter de la Mare (1873-1956)

On Maundy Thursday and on Good Friday, I was able to sit outside briefly in the early morning. My daughters and I had a walk without the dogs on the Thursday evening – so different and peaceful. Sorry doggies!

The starlings won’t be nesting in the hole above the bay window this year. That’s all fastened off neatly now. They’ll be able to find somewhere else. They are canny little things! And, while I’m writing about birds and their nesting, I should tell you that the lovely little beehouse has been taken over by the bluetits and that the great tits are nesting again in the mailbox. Last year we used it as a mailbox but had to stop as the great tits took it over for their accommodation so, this year, I’ve fixed it in the Swedish Whitebeam just for them.

More close-up photography from Ginny - minute detail!

I thought I saw a warbler in the cottage garden a week ago, I’m expecting them back but I couldn’t be absolutely certain about this one. The redpolls have joined the regular diners at the feeding station and I’m now sure we have goldcrests nesting here – one even dared to flutter by the French windows just so that I could let you know!

The female hen harrier is watching us – a bit spooky! And a heron with quite a lot of very dark plumage is frequenting the river in the valley as well as the wetland where there was a mill pond once upon a time. If we were still doon sooth I would wonder if it may be a stork.

Jess almost sat on a pheasant! She really did! It got away but not before Orlando got a mouthful of its tail! It still comes and sits on the stone wall outside the sitting room. They are a bit clueless but very beautifully turned out and the call always takes me back to my childhood.

Hare today, gone tomorrow!

Last year, oystercatchers were nesting under one of the windmills. This year they have come back but they seem more interested in the riverside at present. They will have to compete with the hares for building sites – although the hares are not builders at all. They just squash a bit of ground and have their babies there. There seem to be more of them this year – which delights me.

Flowering currant hedge on the hill.

The bees are numerous along the flowering currant hedge on the hillside and I think there may be a blackbird nesting in there. One pair built a nest in our log store.  I haven’t seen them since the nest was completed – but I didn’t see them actually building the nest either – although I did see the female on the kitchen garden gate with a mouth very full of what appeared to be dried grasses. I won’t be disturbing it. I put up a ceramic swallow nest too – it’s a bit low but we don’t have so many tall buildings in Caithness so I thought they might approve of it as a potential nesting site. We still need to put up the owl box – and it would be a good idea because last Wednesday I saw a tawny owl sitting on the gate into the wildwood. We still have to establish who will take up residence in the two new boxes – one for robins and the other for bluetits. With my record, it probably won’t be robins or bluetits! There is a teapot hanging in a bush at the back of the house, it was bought as a purpose made nest for robins, but no robin has ever nested in it – and we’ve had it for years – first in Wick and now here at Stempster. They’re not very grateful!!!

Swallows! They’re back! My Grandma Johnson used to be very excited to hear the first cuckoo and it is very exciting but equally exciting is spotting the first swallow of the year. On Thursday, 13^th April, there were so many flying insects around us that it was not surprising a scouting party of swallows was seen in the lane. They’ve been seen since but not in very large numbers so far.

Furry friend

The first bat was seen two days before that. They need an abundance of insects too. The number of caterpillars on the herbage at the side of the path to the windfarm would suggest that there will be no food shortage this spring. On the 16^th a bat caught a moth outside the bathroom window – a bit like watching a sparrowhawk take a bluetit – mixed feelings!
We’ve seen peacock butterflies and tortoiseshells so far this year. One tortoiseshell was resting in the sun on the araucaria – the young tree – not the granddaughter!

Until this month we’d seen hedgehogs on the road up to Stempster and we’d seen their poo in the garden – as well as being certain that SOMETHING had been living in the hedgehog house – but we hadn’t actually spotted one in the garden itself. But, on 8^th April, one appeared on the trail camera. And there was much rejoicing!

The newly made gate between the cottage garden and the shrubbery. Calum shaped the bottom so the hedgehogs can pass through.

Easter Sunday morning was magical. It seemed the world held its breath so that those who wanted to feel the hope that still exists had the opportunity to do just that. There are serious concerns over environmental issues, a leaning to the extreme right in worldwide politics and the breaking down of connectivity in society thereby leading to a reduction in empathy - but it’s not all doom and gloom. While we are in touch with the natural world and respect it, our own spirituality flourishes – and with that flourishing comes hope for all our futures. I’ve sown seeds recently and I’m watering them in the hope that they will germinate. I’ve planted things and pruned others in the hope of watching them develop. I’m not the only one. There are a lot of hopeful people.

Celandines on the ditch side

Some daffodils are beginning to fade in Caithness now but there are still marsh marigolds, coltsfoot/feet!, dandelions and celandines to reflect the sun. Our pond has marsh marigolds for the first time too! No frog spawn yet though. Things change while there’s always hope. The fields across the valley look different this springtime, quite a number have been ploughed. It’s all part of the big picture. The wildlife sharing this corner of the world with us will give it their best shot. And we’ll be here for them.

View from our hill. At the bottom is Forss river.

Back in 1917, the “Epworth Bells”, Saturday 21^st April, was offering the following grazing:

“BELTON
TO BE LET BY TENDER, the GRASS on the FIELD MERES, from 4^th May to 15^th November, 1917, viz.: - 1 Sampson Croft Mere, 2 Butt Mere. 3 Buckle Style Mere, 4 Shillgates Mere, 5 Horn Price Mere, 6 Sarah Backs Mere, 7 Marsh Mere, 8 Clapmire Mere, 9 Sand Close Mere, 10 Moorlands Mere. – Marked and Sealed Tenders to be sent to J.W. Ross, on or before MONDAY, APRIL 30^th, 1917.”

I include this as an agricultural reference but also because there are some fascinating names here.

To conclude the quotations from the “Epworth Bells”, here’s a paragraph from the earlier newspaper, 7^th April 1917, of interest to all of us who struggle with the changing of the clocks:

“Summer-time comes in earlier, and also goes out earlier, this year than last. In 1916, the hands of the clock were put forward on May 21, and back on October 1. The recommendation of the Home Secretary’s Committee, with regard to the adoption of summer time as a permanent institution is that its period should be from the second Sunday in April to the third Sunday in September each year, and that the change from normal to Summer-time should be made on the night of Saturday – Sunday, and the reversion to normal time on the night of Sunday-Monday. Summer-time this year will, therefore, begin at two o’clock in the morning of Sunday, April 8^th, and will end at two o’clock in the morning of Monday, September 17.”

Lots of pollen!

 

On the coldest morning of April, I noticed new green leaves on the recently replanted privet and the complete greening of the hedgerow which was planted, in the soon-to-be-orchard, last year. I also noticed tiny seedlings where I’ve sprinkled a few wildflower seeds. All to play for!

"Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light."
Theodore Roethke (1908-1963)

Thanks to Judith and Ginny for supplementing my photos. I'm still learning!  And to Clemency for editing all the blogs every single month even when she is snowed under with work. Next month's (May) blog will be a little bit different - MAYbe!!!

Stop-press news!

29th April -  Keith and Judith both heard the cuckoo from the yard. I'm listening hard every time I step outside - such a welcome sound!

Can't help photographing gateways!