“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Mary Oliver
I could die happily here, lost in this view.
Sunday April 3rd
Another restful sleep; I’m sleeping so very well here. Awake soon after 5, but the room was dark, the bed was warm and comfy; it was easy to stay snuggled under the duvet. B woke early too though. We chatted for a bit and I was up before 6.30 – ahead of our avian guests’ arrival – ready to watch the day unfold. Continue reading “The View from Here: serenity in the rain”
B very gently suggested that he let me out of the car and said he’d come back for me …
This afternoon we ventured abroad, heading for a retail park in Plymouth at B’s request. Such a trip wasn’t quite what my romantic soul had imagined as our first joint expedition from our new home, but of course there are many practicalities to deal with at this time: B needed a different box to get the tv working properly; and we wanted to look at fridge/freezers and dishwashers – very essential kit on my list.
“Hear! hear!” screamed the jay from a neighboring tree, where I had heard a tittering for some time. “Winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel, if you know where to look for it.” -Henry David Thoreau, 28 November 1858, journal entry
A pleasing avian symmetry yesterday: the day began and ended with the call of the pheasant. My Cornish bird list, based entirely on sightings from the house, currently has 18 entries. Continue reading “Birds on the Balcony: what watching yields”
A neighbour called by today to introduce himself: Peter – a local farmer. We can see his farm from our windows. He was welcoming, friendly and helpful. The sort of man you could call upon in a crisis. He mentioned that the road climbing behind us is treacherous in icy weather. A road to avoid when winter approaches. We have arrived here at the most perfect time in the year: wintry weather is highly unlikely now and everything is ready and waiting to burst into life. If ever it stops raining and warms up!
The view from here – from sitting on my sofa – is grey and green and gloomy. And I love it.
Saturday April 2nd
It is 7.15am. I woke a couple of hours ago; I’m sitting here – on our sofa – enjoying my second cup of tea; the silence broken only by the birds on the balcony and Harricat purring. I am ready for what feels like our first proper day in our new lives. And I feel like I’m the luckiest person alive.
It was my first sunrise at Highfield so that made it a magnificent sunrise!
We have chosen a house which faces north-west. It could present some challenges when it comes to my love of these special times of day. The aspect over the open valley, with its mass of empty skies, will allow us wonderful sunsets, I hope. I’m picturing sitting on the balcony, glass in hand, as a fiery orange sun sinks below the opposite hills. But I’ve been less sure about sunrises. Continue reading “Sunrise…sunset…”
Three roads meet at the bottom of a valley.
Three roads meet at the bottom of a small, insignificant valley. And just a short way up from the valley floor are two adjacent gates, always open. (Neither accessible to the removal lorry.) It’s possible to make a circuit of our new domain, encompassing all the various environments we have, by entering at one gate and circling around to reach the other. Continue reading “A field, a garden, a barn and a bank”
By this evening the residents of the local village will have witnessed the contents of our house being decanted from the back of one lorry into a smaller one.
We arrived here mid-afternoon after a broken night, a harried departure and a smooth journey. En route, in our separate cars, we heard firstly that completion on our old property had gone through, and an hour later, completion on our new one: we would arrive as the legal incumbents of Highfield, ready to embrace this new life in Cornwall. Continue reading “The house is ours”
Who needs television when I can watch Harri watching birds…
It is 05.16 and I just heard my first bird of the day: the distinctive harsh call of a pheasant. I love pheasants. I am happy to have a pheasant welcome me into this – our first full day in this beautiful place. Continue reading “Birds on the Balcony”
The view from here is inky black. If I turn off the lights the sky is spangled with stars.
Friday April 1st
It will shortly be 5 am. I have been up since 3.30, awake since 1.00, and I am sitting here, in an empty room, in an empty house, bubbling with happiness. Continue reading “The View from Here: silence and stars. The story begins”
