John Barleycorn

 

Pictured: getting in a field of barley just below Bury Ditches hill fort, this afternoon. I went out for a stroll after we got back from a trip to Church Stretton, where I scored a good book and a couple of maps at the antiques place. However, the best bargain of all was a 14"x12" Wacom graphics tablet from a charity shop for twenty-five quid. When we got back, I downloaded an open-source graphics/painting app and the driver for the tablet, and Bob's your whatsit. I think this fortuitous combo could be a) useful, and b) a good deal of fun. I might even be inspired to knock out some of your actual artwork with it: we'll see.

Anyhow, the above pic of harvest kind of sums up this extraordinary day. A coolish but very bright, blue-skied start to the day gradually matured into Mediterranean heat and light by mid-afternoon, with the mercury reading twenty-seven Celsius: a welcome respite from the dismal July and August just passed. It was good to slog it up the hill in the heat, at pace and without breaking step; just to stand and stare for a while at a field gate, and then stroll gently back down the hill with the sun at my back. Halfway down, a familiar, piping cry alerted me to a Red Kite very nearby. Seconds later, it broke the cover of the tree directly above me: straightway picking up a strong thermal and soaring high into the blue within seconds of my sighting it. Perfick...