The lightning struck, intensely
bright, followed in almost the same instance by the thunderclap directly
overhead, so loud that it shook the car and then the rain began and fell
heavily in large drops beating a frantic tune on the car roof, then almost as quickly
as the dark skies arrived, they were gone and the sun was out again, although
it was a few moments before the April shower stopped completely and a rainbow
appeared in the sky.
We were parked by the village green,
which was patterned with strips of freshly cut grass and when we got out of the
car the mixture of sun, rain and cut grass produced a smell that was quite
intoxicating.
We locked the car and headed down the
lane and as if the switch on a great sound system had been flicked on, the bird
life in the trees bordering the green exploded into a cacophony of sound as
they emerged from their shelters to go about their spring business.
We turned off the lane into the woods
where nature and man had both left their mark.
The areas that had once been coppiced
or pollarded now went their own way and the woods were full of life.
On the borders of the woods the old
cut and lay hedge and the ancient hedgerows along the lanes teamed with a great
abundance of life of all kinds.
A sobering reflection on this idyllic
scene is that all the visible life was either predator or prey but that did not
detract from its beauty in fact it enhanced it if anything.
However, the skies darkened again,
and the rain started to fall and we had to make a dash for the car, but by the
time we reached the car we were soaked to the skin and we quickly scrabbled
into the car as if fearful we would get even wetter if indeed that were even
possible.
Just as I closed the door the
lightning struck again and then the thunder shook the car violently once more.
What a wonderful and remarkable time
spring is wherever you are but in the British Isles the unpredictability
transforms, almost in a heartbeat, from tranquility to chaos and back again,
and you know I don’t think I would want to live anywhere else.
