Our small visitors have gone out for the afternoon, so I’m taking the opportunity to enjoy an hour or two out in the fields – down Scots Lane and Bould Lane to the path across the field of oats, over the main road and on past Linley Hall to the top of the bank, then back beside Birch Wood to Linley Green and home again. There’s a crab apple tree down there which is well-laden – worth a revisit when they’re ready for picking, if I can time it before the deer get them all…

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It’s dry and bright, not too warm. We’ve been busy all day – we need a short leg stretch. Colemore Green and Boldings Pools will be perfect…

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We were away for the best part of two weeks, and it’s taken a day or two to get straight… And it’s warm – really warm! So this morning we’re out shortly after 9am (and back by 11), enjoying the familiar landscape of Willey in summer.

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Summer comes to Shirlett: a short wander along the lane. The wild rose is in bloom, the pink of the petals whitening as they open. There’s honeysuckle too, and speedwell – and buttercups by the thousands. Summer’s here, I think.

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It can’t be far off! There are signs of summer all the way along the lane on this fine evening – the wild rose is coming into flower, as is the honeysuckle, and here and there the brambles are flowering. Will there be blackberries in June?

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An old favourite, perfect for a fine afternoon. There’s a cool breeze, though the trees provide some shelter and the sun is warm when it shines. There’s a bright yellow chicken in a old oak tree, the robins are singing ferociously and there’s a red kite wheeling in the distance, nicely caught in the sunlight.

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We’d had enough of domestic/garden duties by about 3.30 – which is when we realised that the sun had come out after a mostly-grey day. A quick wander around the Willey lanes should be good…

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Ne’er cast a clout…
…till May be out. Does it refer to the month or the hawthorn blossom? There’s plenty of the latter (a pleasant perfume in the air), and though the temperature is comfortable, it’s no more than that (and certainly cooler than the past two days). Wait until June, in other words!

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A day of still air and strong sunshine – it’s going to be warm this afternoon. Comer Woods should be ideal. It’s very pleasant here under under the trees and beside the pools, and it’s fairly quiet today. A cold drink at the cafe might have been a perfect end to our wanderings, but it closes at 3pm – abut a minute before we got there, in other words…
The car said the air temperature was 25C as we approached Bridgnorth, on our way home. It won’t last…

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