There is a rock on the edge of the moor where I like to sit and look down into the vale below. It’s above a V-shaped nick in the escarpment through which an old drover’s track passes. On a clear day it’s possible to see the sea about 12 miles away. I couldn’t see far today. A sea fret was coming in, billowing through the nick. The view was thick mist but with blue sky above.

The mist creates strange light and sound effects. Lichens on the rocks and twined in the heather absorb moisture from the mist. They swell and appear luminous in the diffuse light, almost phosphorescent, reflecting the wavelengths that selectively percolate through the fret. 

I could hear fell runners talking to each other as if they were close. I started to gather myself for them coming past the isolated spot where I was sitting. Everyone always says hello and exchanges a few pleasant words on the moor. It took me a while to work out they were on the other side of the valley, some distance away, and would not be coming anywhere nearby. Their voices had carried through the moist air.

Eventually it was time to leave my rock to get back home as I wanted to sort out some seeds. I walked past a flock of hoggets, last year’s lambs, munching on hay the farmer had brought up to the moor in big round bales to spread in grassy patches amongst the heather. The hay smelt of summer. Then dropping down off the moor and out of the mist I passed through the in-bye fields close to the farms and barns where this year’s lambs, tiny and frail, were making their first outings with the ewes. Spring is well and truly here.

With Spring comes the planting of seeds. Last year I didn’t plant any. The mother of a good friend from London died last February. She lived in a town not too far from my village so during the pandemic I used to go and visit her most days, take her food and so on, because my friend could not travel from London to see her. She had dementia so it was a complicated as she didn’t fully appreciate what was happening, refused to move out of the house into care and would not use the telephone. It was all a bit of a palaver that continued after the pandemic.

Anyway, what with this and that my seeds didn’t get planted. I’ve still got the seeds and little biodegradable pots from last year. I hope the seeds will germinate even though they are a year old. I’ll put the pots on the windowsill in my kitchen to start with and then they go out to a cold frame by the front door, and then later to big pots at the front of the house and the allotment.

The thing is though, it is still way too early to plant most seeds! There can be frosts here up to mid-April so I shouldn’t start planting for a while yet. In the meantime, I can get everything lined up in anticipation. Is anyone else champing at the bit to get their seeds planted?

Rowan on the moor

A Moodscope member