Walking in the time of Corona - May to August

Before lockdown my idea of a walk was a couple of miles, a couple of times a month. My perspective has changed so much in the last few months - if I do 3 miles, I feel as if I've hardly started. My 2019 self would not have believed this shift!
In April I wrote about enjoying the extra time out in nature, and that is still true. added to the joy of the local area opening up to me has been to really noticed the seasons change. The bare fields became green with small shoots, the bluebells gave way to cowslips, buttercups and then daisies. Now the meadows are full of long grasses with colourful seeds; purple thistles, and the white disks of cow parsley florets.
In spring, hedges grew thick with leaves, fragrant blossom visited by a multitude and now hang heavy with blackberries, elderberries, rosehips, sloes, wild raspberries and acorns.
Over head I've seen all sorts of birds - sparrows, blackbirds, tits, thrushes, swallows, herons flying over fields, sky larks, which I've heard before I've seen.... as well as the butterflies I've already mentioned, with the predominent species changing over the months, damsel flies and dragon flies have swooped around me and more types of bees and bumble bees than I ever knew existed!
Every time I walk in the countryside I am filled with gratitiude that I can do this and experience all these sights.
Foraging is now on my mind, but that's another story!

Here are some highlights from May to August
May

 (The photos in this collage are deliberately 'low-key')

June

July

  

August