Equinox

When I was at school, I had detention just once, but it seemed like agony.  I was compelled to write an essay under the title “Why I like Autumn” and it seemed like absolute torture.  Back then, I just hated Autumn!  The cold, wet, windy days; the leaves which gradually composted into filthy sludge, having to come home from school in the dark…
  

But I grew up, time passed, and my perspective changed.  Last Autumn was a triumph of exquisite colour and now I’m looking forward to seeing the wonders this Autumn will bring.  We’ve passed the equinox now, but there is still the tail end of Summer to enjoy.
   

Have you seen the swallows, queuing up in long lines on the telegraph wires to gather their strength for their big flight to South Africa?  Have you seen the black-headed gulls, with their heads now just spotted white, coming into town to seek opportunistic feeding?  Yesterday I watched as a still-brown young cormorant, struggling to swallow a fish which was far too big to swallow, dropped the fish disappointedly. By the time Spring comes, every young cormorant’s fish catching expertise will be honed to perfection.
   

My last few cycle rides have taken me through superbly beautiful scenes. Skies blue between the dark, dark clouds; saturated greens washed with rain and tinged with gold and the plaintive call of the swallows, as they gather on their wires.  There’s a quietness about the tail end of Summer, as most of the songbirds no longer sing, and their simple calls seem to be carried away on the wind. It’s as though the land rests, after the heady rush of Summer. 
  

But the farmers are still busy.  Arable fields are being harvested leaving behind ochre coloured stubble, and livestock are spreading muck on the minor roads as they are moved from one wet field to another.  My bike needs a good clean when I get home.
   

I’m going to be in the Peak District this weekend, helping a bunch of relative cycling newcomers learn there are rewards for cycling uphill.  I hope I can also find some swallows to show them, so that our humble cycling exertions can be put into perspective.