Behind the willows, over the brookclose by the brambles, where the vixen feeds her cubs:A bit of wilderness where the roe deer live

The hay twirls then dropsDust fills the hayfield air:a day’s work to him.

The white cow sinksknee-deep into Alder Pond -ignores her image.

So that’s how they make shredded wheat!

The wind at her back;a moment of pause beforehungry mouths at home

Alder Pond, church spire, the herd lies on the lea;I could have as little to do.

Old man heron, Lord of all he surveys

Their scent fills the nostrilsTheir quiet hum gives him courageWax, nectar honey

One black, one white calfSlope off to find pastures newA third stands and looks

Housing crisis, what housing crisis?

Trees on the skylinestanding proud in their heightTwigs stretch for the clouds

How frozen the heartthat the murmuration’s swoopcan no longer thaw

A cold northeasterlybrings the handsome redwingto feast at our table

The rustle of reeds, the squelch of bootsThen the sky full of snipe, batting about.It’s the flush count again!

Sun sinks behind cloud;clusters of black coral stand:a white sheet beneath

Feasting has finished.Red baubles left on brancheskeep memory full

The old Ash beckonsfootprints followThe sky thickens

Cold feet, icy airEarly lambs have it hardest,Spring is unheard of.

A traveller from an arctic land…

You’re too late;the snow queen has passed.Life will return as Spring takes hold.

The curlew’s lonely cry -Heads lift to follow her trailHeading seaward still.

Fragile blossom.Warm breeze shakes the laden branch;Dancing snowflakes fall

Now the paparazzi are here,We’ll be all over the gossip columns!

I’ve got a wonderful feeling,Everything’s going my way!

Thank you to our...Accountant and architects,

Bakers, beekeepers and

bunting makers,

Cakes, cricketers and

creative writers,

Donors and detectorists,

Event and exhibition organisers,

ecologists and engineers,

Friends of the Fairfield

Association and Forest Schools,

Grant givers, graziers and

graffiti sanders,

Hedge layers, haymakers,

hare recorder, historians and the

Heritage Lottery Fund,

IT experts and

insect identifiers,

Joanna our stone carver,

the King and Queen and

Lords and Ladies

of the Orchard,

Musicians, mapmakers

and most of all

Members of the FA,

Natural England,

nettle slashers and

newsletter deliverers,

Orchard Volunteers and

our outreach to schools,

Ploughmen and

Photographers,

QEII status,

Ragwort diggers

and the RSPB,

Scythers, secretaries, seed

collectors, and strimmers,

Our treasurer and trustees,

The University’s

Green Lancaster,

Volunteers of every kind,

White Park Cattle and

the Wildlife Trust,

Xmas carol singers,

The Young Offenders

who laid our path,

And the Zen Buddhists

and all those others who

just turn up and help.