18th April from the West Cliff Green, Bournemouth

The breeze is fresh and strong so that when the sun is covered by the bumbling white clouds, the temperature drops in an instant. The sea is blue and sparkles when the sun is out and little, white-topped waves chase into the shore with a playful exuberance. A single pigeon stands on the grass under the trees uncertain of what he should be doing. ‘Eating’ is the general answer to that but he wanders off, still baffled by it all. A patch of small campions glow pink in the morning light. A blackbird sings for us this morning.

From 18th April 2022

The mackerel sky comes and goes. The chilly little wind increases as we move into evening although the sun is still strong and makes long shadows among the dark pines. The ruffled sea is blueberry dark. A crow is turning over little balls of dry grass to see what is underneath. You can see from his confidence that he has done this before and knows where there is food to be found. He gets better odds than in a Find the lady game. All along the clifftop are little musliny triangular nests containing hundreds of little caterpillars. These are probably the larvae of the Brown Tail moth which can cause a rash in humans and dogs so best not to explore too closely although many other moths and butterflies create these little nurseries for overwintering young. #westcliffgreen #bournemouth #April #spring

From 18th April 2014

The early morning sun is as warm as a new baked hot cross bun on a blue china plate. The air is fresh and crisp and a blackbird is carolling from the tip of a gorse bush. Why are you running? Stop. Take those things out of your ears and revel in this spring dawn.

From 18th April 2012

The sea and sky are uniform grey as though everything is covered with dust-sheets ready for a fresh coat of paint. The twisted pine nods and shakes like an old man troubled by a wasp. Are those tears running down my window? How many more figures of speech can I use?