Coed y Prior Common between the Blorenge and the Mon and Brecon Canal was known to me as a teenager as its not far away from a nest box colony set up by Percy Playford in the 1970's to study Gwent's - or was it Monmouthshire then?- pied flycatchers. Yesterday evening I chose to exercise my right - not that I'm a commoner, well not in its agricultural sense anyway - to walk the common again.
The unseasonal weather had mistakenly given the impression of high summer and I was somewhat lulled into thinking the common would be alive with parachuting tree pipit, scalding stonechat, low flying hirundines, basking adders and clegs. In reality despite the blue sky and warm temperatures the common was characterised by dead bracken, bare silver birch and a deathly silence.
I'd never heard that John Muir quote before. Thanks for sharing. It's a good one.
ReplyDeleteJoel
http://hongkonghonky.blogspot.com/