16 April 2015 –
It happens very gradually, almost imperceptably. The greening. So far only Sallow and Hawthorn are shifting the colour of hedge and scrub, opening the play as Robins and Blackbirds open the dawn chorus. Soon Birch and Poplar will follow and then they’ll all join in. Today is the first T-shirt day of the year, the first warm. A small herd of Fallow Deer seem at ease with my prescence, no running, no white tails. But they keep a keen eye on me, the watcher watched. Out at Gartloch Pool there is a different crowd on the water than on my last visit: a spring of Teal and noisy Black-headed Gulls, Reed Buntings flitting around the edge, three terrirorial Herons motionless on the opposite side and two lads with fishing rods and a barbecue, taps aff.
