May

In the past week or so the trees and hedges have really greened up: I took this photo  of the oak trees along the lane from Foulsyke the other evening as I was walking down to the village hall: they looked so beautiful in the evening light. However if you asked me what is special about May I would say three things; lambs, cuckoos and bluebells.

There are so many lambs in the fields now and they are starting to charge around in little gangs sometimes finding their way onto the lanes through tiny gaps in gates and hedges and then having difficulty getting back. Lambs, like most animals are not easy to photograph as they tend either to hide behind their mother or scamper off just when you think you may have the perfect shot. However I was in luck last Sunday: Judy and I were out for a walk having our picnic lunch when we were surrounded by a flock of inquisitive lambs and their mothers – photo opportunity.

There seem to be cuckoos everywhere, there are certainly some in the wood behind, and also in Lanthwaite Wood. Last year I didn’t hear a cuckoo until 5 May which was a bit later than usual but this year I heard my first cuckoo on 28 April and some guests said they had heard it earlier in the week.

Rannerdale bluebells are quite early as well this year and there have been several pictures in newspapers and on television. They are very special and part of their attraction is that they are on open fellside rather than in a wood so there are large swathes of blue across the valley. I find this very difficult to capture on camera but what one can never do is to capture their very distinctive and evocative scent.