Easter at the Salt Marsh

Pale rays of sea aster and heads of lavender smear the salt marsh mauve and purple, a wave of Easter colour, pungent with a salty, muddy scent. Seaside spirits sing a hymn, a cheerful noise, a chink of halyards and a flap of sails, wind, waves and distant whales. Kim M. Russell, 3rd September 2019 […]

Labour Day

No wonder they call it labour – it’s hard work! The build-up was difficult enough, what with the move from Germany to Ireland via London, getting to know new people and surroundings, having to travel forty miles and back to the nearest hospital for check-ups, and then falling over a paving stone on my way […]

Crow at the Castle Gate

There is no lonelier spot than the castle on the moors, hung over with scudding cloud where a lone tattered crow soars. As it guards the castle gate it utters raucous caws, eyeing the path with a shiny eye while sharpening beak and claws to pick at the first stars of twilight, a shadow unzipping […]

Rust

The track she was following curved and swerved through ancient trees and undergrowth, muffling the sound of a gurgling stream until she passed a gap. Pushing through tangles of brambles, she glimpsed sunlight sparkling on water and slid down the bank in her haste to reach it. A river coursed through the forest and, just […]

Nibbling the Edge of Summer

I’m a grey squirrel, loveable in my autumn frenzy, gathering sustenance for the coming season. You are content to observe me scampering in gardens and parks, flying from branch to branch, leaping from path to bench, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. You laugh as a scurry of clouds devours the sky, grey squirrels nibbling the azure until […]

Corncockle

deadly corncockle flashing among stalks of corn a rare magenta wild beauty in the garden spikes bitter bread of harvest Kim M. Russell, 30th August 2019 My response to Carpe Diem #1736 Corncockle (Agrostemma githago) In the last episode of this month of wildflowers, today’s flower is the corncockle or Agrostemma githago, a slender pink […]