1983 January till December
January 14th
The sky is grey. I’ve seen I’d say about 400 Starlings in the Lane
Fields, whirling and twisting. A large group stopped by the
fence, busily pecking the ground and did not fly away when the
car went past.
The above excepted,
only a few weeks of 1983’s journals survive.
5th November
It has drizzled and rained with fog and low grey clouds throughout
the day. In Andrew Lane Park the large orange berries on the
stark Norwegian Whitebeams, are as big as marbles. Walking up
Belmont Road I was amazed to see how many flowers were still out
in November. Nasturtiums, Dahlias, Antirrhinums, Chrysanthemums,
Pansies, Stock – the list is long. It is probably because of the
mild weather we have been having with only one slight frost so
far this Autumn!
November 7th
I wish somebody loved me. Saturday night, seven minutes past ten.
I’m in the house alone. Not quite: Truffle, Tufty, Dusty and
Cindy, are here as well.
I took Cindy and the puppies round the Tip Field. Tufty got left
behind in the rushes near the Ash tree and four naughty Carrion
Crows came to mob him. They sneaked up when I was far enough
away not to be able to rescue him.
November 8th
I was walking to Entwistle Reservoir with a grey sky and watery sun
above me. It was cold, but guess what? George stopped, and Jane
gave me a lift. The walk round the Reservoir was lovely. I saw a
large flock of Mallard on the rippling waters and a Great Black
Backed Seagull with pure white head and breast, strong yellow
beak, dark grey back feathers and white tail. How I enjoyed that
walk. Because of the lift it only took me three hours.
On the return journey I had a wonderful surprise. Round the bad
bend I noted a bare tree heavily laden with red berries. Most of
the Mountain Ashes have lost theirs by now so I thought I would
look through my binoculars to check. Behind the Mountain Ash,
perched on an Alder were three magnificent male Bullfinches. I
was overjoyed to see them as I have never seen this beautiful
bird before, except in Scotland.
The bend in the road is a very bad one but I watched them for as
long as I could. The jet black caps, wings and tail with very
distinct soft grey backs and deep pink breasts. Like a Jay they
have a conspicuous white rump. What beautiful birds. It is a
shame there were no female Bullfinches there, as I would have
loved to see some. Maybe they live in segregated flocks for the
Winter. What a King among birds and surely a prince amongst
Finches. It is the first time I have seen a Bullfinch in
England. Behind the Bullfinches a flock of Fieldfares were
mulling around.
As I walked towards the New Farm the sun peeped through. Sally, the
Doberman Pincher came to say hello to Cindy. They touched noses
so are probably friends. The boy was quite polite and apologised
saying she only wanted to play. I told him it was alright. I bet
Fisher’s thinking hard where I’ve been, because I said it was a
secret. He was gathering sheep by the plantation when I returned
so that might make his nose itch.
The Carrion Crows seemed happy today, chasing, cavorting,
acrobatics and courting! They were fun to watch. I thought, “It
must be nice to be a Carrion Crow in love”. On a tree on the
East side of the Reservoir, there was a picture of a brown Wolf
pinned to a tree with a message beneath it that read “Just for
you.” I like Wolves; purely love and instinct. Though loners,
they can be very sociable and dear friends to their own kind.
November 11th
Walking down to the first stream I must have met about twenty
Blackbirds; some I saw eating Hawthorn berries. There were
purple droppings on the railway bridge containing Blackberry
seeds, probably left by a Blackbird. On Belmont Reservoir I saw
many seagulls lined up along the pier and at least 300 swimming
around in the water. I love birds
Me and Debby (we know it’s Debby and I) went to the Spread Eagle
for a celebration meal. She drove the car very competently but,
could not see the choke in the pitch dark. It stopped at the AA
box, so we pushed it around to stop it blocking the road. We
both had pizzas and ice cream, and lots of Sangria. There were
some nice lads in the Railway later, in particularly one who
looked in my direction. Could have been the girl behind me, or
at the side. He was nice though. In Edgeworth we went in the
White Horse, and saw four teachers! Shucks.
This morning in town I watched many Pigeons congregate together;
two Sparrows in love; and a dark grey male Pigeon who puffed out
his neck feathers to court a less-grey, female. I thought “I
wonder if these birds are happy with their life?” I suppose they
are.
Waiting at the bus terminus this morning the sky was clear with a
blustery wind. Within about eight minutes of each other, two
flocks of Geese flew overhead. I would say between thirty and
fifty birds in each group. They made the traditional arrow,
going southwest to northeast.
November 12th
The geese must have had a premonition of weather to come. A very
strong north-easterly wind has blown all day. It battered the
trees. Winter’s arrived, wrapping the trees and their leaves,
leaving them old, bare and dark. The boughs of the Pines were
bent so much I’m surprised they never broke. I felt as though
the wind was driving me, but I enjoyed the might of the gale. At
times torrential rain fell and the rivers swelled with splashing
thuds. The waterfalls roared.
A black and white Duck flew off the lodge. I’m very happy. It is my
first Goldeneye this Winter. I saw the cheeky white eye patch as
it flew away. Goodness knows how it managed to climb to such a
height over the lodge, and fly away. I don’t. Do you?
In the evening, about four o’clock, I took Cindy over the moor. The
storm clouds had gone but the wind remained. The sky was light
blue with white and purple- grey clouds. Some cumulous clouds,
some cirrus ships. To the west it was very bright. Anglezarke
Reservoir shone silver but, to the west it was darkening fast.
As the wind blew me home deep pink tinted the clouds. Winter’s
come at last. I hope it won’t be lonely. Cindy loves the wind as
I do. It cleans your soul. Well she loves the smells it brings
to her nose.
My dad brought home a pair of Red-legged Partridges which a man had
shot. I do not condone the killing of such a beautiful bird.
November 12th
The air has been freezing cold but very calm; ponds along Rivington
track were like perfect mirrors, reflecting the clouds. The
grass below on our moor was that beautiful sandy gold colour.
The dark, black, figures of trees, showed up really well above
it. I could hear the hounds yelling over the moor and saw some
hunters. I prayed no Foxes would die this day.
Further afield were bright green fields; what a contrast with these
pale-green fields, where grass is dying off and the shapes of
cows could be seen. Peace and stillness hung around, but roaring
traffic and yelling hounds competed for sound. Gushing
waterfalls have a delightful sound that clears the mind.
On the wall by my side, light green Lichen and Moss added a splash
of colour. Many stones, slate and granite, had collected behind
the fence as the slope is steep.
As I passed the sun came out from
the clouds again. Lower down a young sheep with black face and
stockings, horns and a grey woolly coat, stopped to talk to me.
Many small birds flew about in the trees of “no one’s field”.
When I set
off up the back this morning there was a small flock of Finches
amongst the oaks. On a young Sycamore, I was amazed to see some
enormous Fungi with greyish blue tops and orangey white gills.
The largest was about 25cm long 15 high and to me seemed
incredibly big. They must belong to the same family as those on
the Beech.
The sky is
lovely and clear tonight, pitch black with twinkling diamonds.
The Dolphin can clearly be seen, and I think I have spotted
Andromeda, the Winged Horse and the Great Bear.
November 14th
I awoke to clear blue sky, except for some faint purple cirrus
clouds to the east. The frost covered the ground making the
grass crisp and the larch needles stiff. On the pavement the ice
made pretty patterns like ferns and waves. The roads were
treacherously slippery.
At about half past eleven
from my Geography class window I could see white dots in waves
to the north, cirrostratus clouds. Later purple cumulous clouds
glided in from the west. My teacher thinks the next depression
will follow them. Well, it’s half
eleven at night, and it’s chucking it down.
A sweet Robin sang to me and Alison down a back street today. We
were philosophising and eating pasties. The Sparrows were just
as nosy as the people.
November 16th
This morning I woke early. It was freezing outside and very fresh.
A lovely whiff in the air. The sun was an enormous warm, orange
ball. The light rays beamed in every direction. As I walked
through the field it chucked it down. The hailstones pricked my
flesh as they thundered down. A grey band of cloud moved over
the sun behind us. Columns of swirling hail marched across the
land: they seemed to move from SW to NE, as though the clouds
had grown legs.
This has been a fabulous day, absolutely incredible. I walked to
Mrs Meadows, had a chat, and caught the bus. My sister took me
shopping and, amongst other things, thanks to Grandma, I bought
the skirt of my dreams. It’s straight, pleated, fashionable,
chique - heather and bilberry shades! Perfection in wool!
Later I dressed up for a surprise journey. Wonderful. A gallery
full of beautiful paintings (and some “trash”). Robert Bateman
is really terrific, but then Roger McPhail is a good artist to
me, and a nice sort of chap. The painting of the Trumpeter
Swans, Two Polar Bears, Little eared Owl, Mergansers, Cheetah,
Leopard, Herring Gulls, were all too wonderful for words. The
scene of a Spaniel in a field with Pheasants overhead was maybe
the most beautiful picture I’ve ever seen. It really moved me.
There was a simple blue, green, white and black picture of trees by
the Waterside and the moon. It was simple but effective.
Shepherd’s paintings were ok and his Orchids were artificial but
gorgeous – like a blonde, big-boobed, small-waisted, heavily
painted beauty queen. George’s battery was flat, so Aaron lent
us his car. He is a good friend - I think I like all his clan.
The young lady with checked dress and blonde shortish straight hair
was very sweet. I wonder if she’d take that as a compliment. The
white wine was good. We arrived home at
quarter past one! Thank
you Lord for a wizard life. “Is that girl walking round slowly
looking at the pictures still at school?” Yes, I've got big ears
you know. The teachers would think I was going crazy if I told
them the events of the last 24 hrs.
November 20th
A very strong wind has blown, though it slackened from time to
time. It has been very cold with heavy rain showers. At the
lodge, the water is over the bridge but Cindy and me managed to
cross it.
I went to listen to the sound of the waterfalls today. At the Blue
Lagoon me and Cindy saw a man walk down with an Alsatian! (Cindy
went all weak at the knees). Water cascaded down the hill in a
white froth to enter the tranquil Blue Lagoon with few waves.
The wind had dropped, the moor looked desolate. Stone walls cut
through it like lines of black ink. The fields looked lush green
after the rain, and the brown of the rushes showed up clearly.
On the way home I must have seen at least forty Mallard flying over
to the reservoir. I saw a small group on the reservoir earlier
on. The drakes look very handsome. There was a pair of courting
crows at the bottom of the lane. They glided straight into a
rising air current; good fun I bet!
November 22nd
The day started with a golden ball, blue sky, cold with clouds
approaching. In the trees by the river there was a large flock
of Blue and Great Tits and I saw a pair of Chaffinch. Walking
home at the foot of Andrew Lane another group of tiny birds
awaited me. There were many Chaffinches, at least five female
and two males.
The great Tits were really sweet and strikingly handsome. White
cheeks, black caps, olive backs and a black line down the belly.
The female Chaffinches were easily spotted by the white lines on
their wings, really showing up against the brown feathers.
In Sweetlove’s Park I saw a group of Song Thrushes busily chatting
and hopping about the trees. A very smart Song Thrush stopped in
a tree outside Mrs Lee’s. I tell them from other Thrushes as
they have larger black mottles on the breast compared to Mistle
Thrushes, and also an orange patch in the corner of the wing.
I saw a handsome Robin singing perkily with the Titmice above the
steps. Yesterday I noticed that on the bare Pussy Willow
branches there were one or two tiny white tufts, coming out of
the buds? “If you’re sane, you have to be insane to live and
cope with an insane world.”
November 23rd
This Morning a bird of prey, dark brown which looked to be holding
something in its clawed feet, got up from the rushes and flew
into the plantation. It was bitterly cold this morning with a
strong wind but by half
ten pm it was quite mild and the wind had dropped and I think
changed direction.
I picked a fern from the wall behind the houses above the
waterfall. I love ferns, they’re so natural. Unless broken you
can never tell that they’ve been touched.
November 24th
This morning it was calm for a change, cold with a few clouds. The
clouds soon cleared to reveal brilliant blue sky overhead. A
rare sight at this season. The bird of prey, dark brown with
pointed wings that I saw yesterday is probably the Kestrel
reported missing on Manchester Radio, which, it was said had
Jesses on - the things ‘held in its feet’. I’ll try and trace
the owner.
November 26th
The day began, dreary with fog and “air dew”, which is when you
walk along in the fog; and your hair becomes covered in water
droplets although it is not raining. It was freezing cold with
frost like chilled, damp, white dust, scattered over the walls.
Along Queens Avenue there were two Carrion Crows on the Chimney
pots who appeared to be “going out with each other.” One sat
head back fanning out its tail feathers, then as its mate
settled on the chimney pot next door it proceeded to puff out
its belly, caw, fan its tail out and shuffle around on the spot.
This was quite an impressive display. The other one, supposedly
the one to be impressed, played hard to get, did nothing and
flew away
Last night the sky was pitch black. Almost all the visible
constellations could be seen. The Great Bear, Little Bear,
Cassiopeia and the Dolphin to name but a few. The clear sky may
help explain the black ice on the road this morning.
Beneath the trees several birds chirruped and I met the Robin
again, singing his little heart out and holding out his chest in
an important manner. His little beak could not stop moving he
was chirruping that much.
One of the most amusing events of the morning was six Magpies
playing a game. Three sat on chimneys on the west side of the
street facing one on a steeple, higher than the chimneys on the
east side of the street. The other two perched where they could
below the steeple or flew around waiting to swoop with the one
on the chimney. The object of the game seemed to be to become
King of the Steeple. A challenger would fly from his chimney to
be the one on the steeple who if overcome would fly back to the
chimney.
It was hilarious to watch them and I thought what a fool I’d look
if I tripped now with my head stuck in the air. I believe in my
sister’s half tamed philosophy wholly - that if you concentrate
on something harmless hard enough then anything harmful can not
harm you. I do it all the time.
The moon is very bright tonight; it looked very picturesque
surrounded by dark blue sky and silky grey clouds. When they had
passed, the brilliance of the moon was quite hypnotizing in a
sense.
27th November
Scattered hail showers have fallen throughout the day, which began
dismally. I would have walked to Edgeworth but fog entrenched
the land. This disappointed me, but the sun shone through the
fast moving clouds like a silver plate.
Then at the river, below the gatehouse, a wonderful surprise. There
was to my delight were three Bullfinches and a Tree Creeper. Two
of the Bullfinches were female which is pleasing, as I have
never seen any before in England. Their tummies were a
“purple-chocolate” colour, and the backs brown with black cap,
tail and wings as in the male. They also had the characteristic
white rump and wing bar.
As they flew between low branches, a male with smart rosy pink
breast, hung precariously from an Elder branch over the fast
flowing river. He seemed oblivious to the might of the river and
only interested in feeding himself. Many small birds, Sparrows,
Chaffinches Great and Blue Tits were busy singing, while
flitting from bough to bough in search of food. There seems to
be good numbers of Great Tits around compared to previous years.
When I saw the tiny, narrow bird with brown, black streaked plumage
and pure white belly I could hardly control myself. I was so
excited to have seen a Tree Creeper: the first in my life. Many
years ago I saw a small brown bird crawling jerkily about a tree
trunk on the farm. I thought it may be a Tree Creeper but do not
remember a white breast. The Tree Creeper was very sweet; much
lovelier than the picture portrays.
In the field on the right down Longworth Lane a Rabbit ran into
cover. Rabbits seem scarce recently, and I’ve not seen a Fox for
ages.
November 28th
The morning was sunny with blue sky, but by one o’clock grey clouds
had rolled over. It snowed, for the first time this Winter!
Large flakes but the ground was too sodden for it to stick. The
wind this evening was bitterly cold, with sleet to further
freeze my hands and feet.
November 29th
When I arrived home at 4.15 the sky to the east was dark blue with
a large cream moon. To the west it was clear pale blue, with
pink clouds that looked as though they had been liberally
painted over the horizon. One particular stretch, thicker than
the rest, appeared like pink powder scattered across the
heavens: probably the course an aeroplane had taken. As the sun
sank lower the faint clouds turned mauve then purple as the pink
was exhausted.
One night, on Friday I think, a Lapwing got up from by the pond,
flying haphazardly around, shrieking into the dark. I must have
startled it. A few days earlier I’d seen three Lapwings at dusk.
This surprised me as I only expect the Peewit call in Spring and
Summer. In Winter the plovers leave to rest in warmer quarters
but obviously some are still loyal to this area, even with this
Winter’s chill.
November 30th
On Monday I noticed the Bracken in the field above the gate house.
It was dark ginger-brown, twisted wrecked and defeated after a
battle with time and frost. The long grass was creamy white,
brittle, dying of age. I could feel the cells snap underfoot.
Some small grasses with feathery heads decked in frost looked
like limp maidens draped in lace.
Many small birds flew through the woods. I wish now that I could
feed them all. One Blue Tit in the back lane looked
wash-coloured, as though this was a sign of weakness. I hope he
receives bread, so he is able to survive the Winter. If they
could, would the birds fight those cats that eat food from the
bird table? For if so, the birds might be eaten by the cats as
well as the food). Well, wouldn’t we fight aliens if we met any?
Without reasoning? Understanding? Choice? Or design?
If everyone had to be judged by one law only - by themselves - how
would you judge yourself? Is this important? We often judge
others before we know the facts. I’ve often done this myself.
Tonight the moon was golden, mysterious at
half past five. By
half past ten it seemed
smaller, higher and brilliant white.
The lads in bottom domestic science group of the first year are
every bit as important as the top sixth form scientists; if not
more so. It is the youth of today who will model the earth of
tomorrow. If we think of them first then hopefully when older,
they will think of their young first and so may the human race
be saved.
November 31st
This has been a lovely day; an opportunity I grabbed by the horns.
The ground was frozen, the sky blue, the sunshine bright as I
set off for Edgeworth. The ice took many forms: some very
slippery black ice I could not see, some opaque slab ice I
could. Cindy and I had to be careful. Few cars past us on the
first leg of our journey.
Along the path I noticed the green of the pines against the blue of
the sky. The sandstone rock face looked impressive and imposing.
I saw some of the first icicles of the Winter. They were small,
say six inches, narrow, appearing wet on the outside. Behind a
group of pines a patch of ground, hidden from the sun, lay white
and frozen. The beauty of the place amazes me.
The level of water has risen. I feared me and Cindy might fall from
the precarious path so I linked us with a lead. If we were to
fall then we would go together. Tall Spruces, small Hawthorns
all looked magnificent. A small Wren tweeted an alarm; then
crept through the bracken like a mouse. Out of sight but not out
of mind.
On the way back Cindy met Sally. Sally wants to play. They don’t
want her to play. Poor Sally, I hope they don’t break her
spirit. A strange man was testing the water with “potions” and a
gentlemen rambler said “good morning.” On the way back a large
flock of seagulls was meandering lazily up the valley. Maybe
valleys are roads to seagulls and their destination - the
reservoirs?
December 3rd
There were hundreds of Gulls on the Reservoir, Black-headed,
Herring, Lesser- and Greater-Blackbacked and Common Gulls too
maybe? Anyway there were loads. The large brown gulls I took to
be juvenile Black-backed. They are magnificent birds. Strong
clean, pure and graceful. They feed off garbage besides natural
food, like we do but you cannot compare a gull to yourself can
you?
Still the birds were touchy and left the shore waters when I
passed. There was one half cast Mallard whose wing may in fact
have been a genetic mistake. It was pinkish brown, maybe a
hybrid Mallard and Domestic Duck. There was even a Pheasant
eating below a wall