Unexpected spectacles!

Phew - what a week! I started a new job on Monday, but despite that, managed to find the time for some unexpected immersion in the natural world.

It got off to a good start on Monday whilst driving to work - only just heading out of Salisbury and there was a red kite above me, just next to the crematorium - very incongruous! It's great to see these once-threatened birds making such a successful comeback. It's taken them a while to get a good talon-hold in Wiltshire, but I'm starting to see them not infrequently around Salisbury.

That evening was the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta. As the holder of one of the original copies, Salisbury played host to an extravagant pageant through the streets. As much of the city centre was shut down, I had walked in across the Harnham watermeadows, admiring the little egret along the way. On the return journey, the distant sounds of the choir in the Cathedral calling the event to a close seemed to goad the local bird life into a cacophony of song in the twilight - so atmospheric, and blending perfectly with the human voices echoing in the distance.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the week was spent in various offices, but having just spent today sorting out the mess of a garden, I am very hopeful that I can have my very own local patch right outside the flat! Fingers crossed, as I am not known for my green fingers at all.