By the Muddy Mire
With the pink and white roses and the honeysuckle bines scrambling through the trees, a delicious ambrosia of fragrance lingered heavily on the air. On the sand bank in the centre of the estuary the curlews gave their liquid burbling call of pure happiness, and where a heron tall and grey was wading through the shallows. However, he soon became aware of our presence and with the slow and stately beat of his wings, and his longshanks trailing behind, as he takes to the air, a slow and tranquil mood was evoked.
By the waters edge the wavelets in the mud-claylike soil were lapping the stones creating domes of froth which coalesced to form bubbles before they sailed across the muddy mire of the estuary and broke in the breeze.
As we pondered to admire the wildflowers that were swaying in all their coquettish glory, trying their best to invite pollinators, accepting whatever comes their way, be it rain or shine. As we listened to the rifling of the bees cast abound the abundance of flowers, the wild grasses were sprouting alike in broad and narrow zones growing amongst them.
As we ambled through the pastures, suddenly ponderance of the situation, with nothing to furnish shelter, Maverick my trusty companion spotted a young hare, a leveret nibbling the sweet variable grasses nearby. His fur seemed rather dark in colour compared to the adult, with black ear tips. Moments later a yell rented the air as we pointed our eyes, and the silence was broken. Maverick had spotted him, but the hare had spotted him too and had the measure of him, Maverick became non-plus and in Certus of himself, but Susie quietly and calmly reassured him. The hare’s acute sense of smell and hearing with his beautiful big ears was the difference between a short or long life and quickly disappeared into the undergrowth.
The blazing sun began to get the better of us, so we rested and took our ease under the shade of a large tree where a blackbird sat in her beggar’s bowl of mud. Beneath the shrub layer guised in red, a vast array of ladybirds were live streaming their coitus lovemaking among the stinging nettles. We were completely spellbound as we watched whilst listening to the choir of the little gnats mourn.
As we continued our amble along the edgeland Maverick feigned an interest in a snuffle-hole made by a fox or a badger, Gracie coughed out tearfully as a baby rabbit suddenly appeared and we were surprised by the strength of her feelings. Sitting on a bench close by was a little boy with his grandad who was showing him how to make a leaf trumpet, and with my thoughts escaping it took me back in time to when I too enjoyed such simple pleasures. Grace was intrigued by this, so we all made leaf trumpets and played them as we made our way back to the car.
Maverick’s belving tongue was an indication that he was hot and in need of a cool drink. As the sun climbed higher in the sky it was apparent that it was not going to cool down at any time soon. The heat had the better of us all, so we headed for home and lazed away the rest of the afternoon with Maverick in deep slumber.
The endless charm and interest of this wonderful location, the variety of winged and four-footed inhabitants are all in evidence here and we will look forward to visiting this interesting spot again in the very near future to garner the quality of this verdant magical place.
