Song of the blackbird
THE arrival of spring couldn’t have come sooner this year.
Boat dwellers across the country have had a tough time of it with dread words like ‘lockdown’, ‘Covid- 19’ or ‘selfisolating’ dominating conversations.
Maybe there’s light at the end of the tunnel. As a 70-yearold liveaboard narrowboat owner, I’ve thankfully had my initial jab – the Oxford AstraZeneca one – and the only side effect was extreme drowsiness the day after.
With the weather having improved following a few weeks of cold and rain, our corner of the Kennet & Avon Canal has been experiencing some balmy days. As a southern African emigrant, my thin blood cries out for warm weather.
Now we are in our sixth year aboard Sabi Star, by early March I was eagerly listening out for the beautiful call of a blackbird.
Their beautiful mellow song tells me spring is indeed here.
During my regular morning towpath walks, I’m noticing things waking up.
Bud burst has begun in a number of trees, their sap flow obviously energised after a winter period of dormancy.
Spring flowers have been popping up all over.
Daily, and in between gorging itself on mealworms at our bird feeder, a robin has taken to perching on high and serenading the new season.
It’s all happiness.