72 micro-seasons 16

Janey...

Sunlight on silver-

blue-glass sea,

Shimmering spring

Kit...

where the Helm

hitches herself to the fell -

this year's lapwing chicks

sit tight

on last year's bracken clumps

Jane...

Daffodil leaves hold their tall curve, still proud, as the golden trumpets fade.

Beverley...

Everything shivers. The water in the butts, the swollen hedge of privet, the pigeons paired and preening on the fence edge.

Helen...

Greenness, greedy and everywhere: gold grey lemon turquoise lime mint and all the colours we have not yet named.

72 micro-seasons 15

Janey...

April 

An icy blast reminds the shivering lilac buds

Helen...

Suddenly - hedges

brindled brown and green. Blackthorn

a scatter of white.

Beverley...

Cow Parsley bonnets have pushed their way up fearlessly through new nettles and are bobbing in the wind.

72 micro-seasons 14

Janey

Ferns unfurling in the chancey slant of sunlight, storm-petals clog the drains

Helen

Roads are dark slicks of river under sullen sky.

Beverley 

Three bare patches in the field spring to life: hares cavorting among the wheat shoots.

72 micro-seasons 13

Janey...

Stonechat,

the first of the year,

its voice like white pebbles in my pocket

Beverley...

The never-ending wind blows the skylarks from view but the fields remain awash with their song.

Helen...

Warm winds, infant seedlings. Tips on my acers like hundreds of tiny hands.

72 micro-seasons 12

Janey

Nant yr Arian...

Silence -

only the kite hangs watchful in the silver-blue sky

Helen

Easter sun slanting

through branches still mainly bare -

sharp shadows appear.

Beverley

Not even the daisies over first mown grass will open their faces to this grey day.

72 micro-seasons 11

Janey -

Because the rain

Soft on my eyelids

and because the sun, because

the sun...

Beverley -

It’s not a drop of blood from my thumb rather a jewel bright ladybird on the greening that sways around my feet.

Helen -

Birdsong trailing like ribbons

from robin and thrush

larking about in spring skies.

72 micro-seasons 10

Janey

Tiny emerald buds of hawthorn leaves, today.

And a skylark. Oh, the skylark!

Helen

Sharp blades to snip and tame tree peonies on a warm brick wall. Fuzzy buds are full of the promise of colour.

72 micro-seasons 9

Janey 

pale green leaves of spring emerging

Helen

Rakes and barrows and a morning’s work clearing winter’s fallen twigs in the churchyard.

72 micro-seasons 8

Janey -

Blackthorn braves the still icy breeze

Helen -

A tiny, delicate but broken tulip stem flourishes indoors, brave striped colours emerge.

72 micro-seasons 7

Janey...

On the bank, a too-early bluebell

Liz...

Finally, blue sky

Helen...

faint scent of damp mown grass …

72 micro-seasons 6

Janey

There's snow on the hills

as over-eager blossoms

regret emerging...

Helen

March is mean with streaky skies and a wild, raw sleet.

72 micro-seasons 5

Janey

Hard, bright, wilding skies

rushing, foaming high-tides and

a full-moon rising

Helen

Hellebores and fritillaries astonish with their speckled splendour.

Liz

Warm sun through wet branches glistens on dewy grass

72 micro-seasons 4

Janey: Hyacinths pushing their way through sodden black soil.

Helen: Snowdrops still lighting the way down dusky hedgerows

72 micro-seasons 3

Janey: Quinces in flower, and the first wild cherry blossom

Liz: Rain falls on waterlogged fields.

Helen: Today is the colour of gold - fat pale lemon catkins against the sky. A Goldeneye on the water puffing and preening. Sunlight pushing its way, surprisingly, into the house

72 micro-seasons 2

Warm scents rise from rain-wet ditches

72 micro-seasons 1 4Feb

Janey Thompson: A sullen mist sits on the hills. The sparrowhawk rises...

Liz Allan: Tones of grey

Emma Lavelle: The first snowdrops and daffodil buds emerging 🌱

Helen Hutchinson: This endless wind has work to do, rolls up his sleeves and roars: ‘Let’s get these ditches dry for spring!’ Yes, say the snowdrops in the hedgerows, nodding.