My A-Z posts this year
are based on my garden – flowers, animals, the birds and the bees, butterflies
- with a bit of poetry thrown in. For some letters I am expecting to cheat
somewhat – a sort of wish they were here.
L – Linnet, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Lupin, Lily
Hail to thee, blithe
spirit!
It would have been easy to find a verse for a skylark but I haven’t seen this
bird for years. However a species that appeared in the garden this winter
is another that inspired Wordsworth to write:
 |
| Linnet |
Thou,
Linnet! In thy green array,
Presiding
Spirit here to-day,
Dost
lead the revels of the May;
And
this is thy dominion.
Bird strikes are quite common on the windows of our home.
 |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker |
This fellow was a bit worse for
wear as a result. At the time I
had been surprised to see what I thought was a female lesser spotted woodpecker
clinging to a sturdy foxglove in the garden. Unfortunately it flew as soon as
it sensed my movement at our lounge window. Then I saw the male bird,
stunned on the path beneath the window, which it had apparently struck leaving
a small contact outline. Initially its head was hunched in its shoulders, its
eyes were closed and its beak gaping open. Over the next three-quarters of an
hour it slowly recovered. During this time I managed to get a number of photos including
the one above. However when it became more lively and I tried to get one more
shot, it clung to the adjacent garden wall and within a few seconds it had
gone. Its flight path was straight in the same direction as the earlier female
bird.
I still see
woodpeckers from time to time in adjacent sycamore trees and even attacking the
peanuts not put out for them. You will have to wait for ‘W’ to one of those.
 |
| Lupins |
My corner thronging
with lupins bloom
Today I slouch here,
with the dispelled gloom.
Colourful nostalgic
thoughts fresh as morning dew
Lupins-- my first
love its no one but you!
With the lupins, a single flower competes:
 |
| Lily |
The modest Rose puts
forth a thorn,
The humble sheep a threat'ning horn:
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.
The humble sheep a threat'ning horn:
While the Lily white shall in love delight,
Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.
OK! OK! I’ll acknowledge that my lily is not white so please
accept this one instead
 |
| Lily |
Poems:
- To a Skylark – Percy Bysshe Shelley
- The Green Linnet – William Wordsworth
- The Lupins Corner – Supratim
- The Lily – William Blake
Photo attribution:
- Linnet - Mindaugas Urbonas; CC BY-SA 2.5
