puddleshark

Skylark on the wing.

Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!
Bird thou never wert,
That from Heaven, or near it,
Pourest thy full heart
In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

Higher still and higher
From the earth thou springest
Like a cloud of fire;
The blue deep thou wingest,
And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest...

Headed down to the coast before sunrise, driving south towards Venus and the crescent moon.

Near Corfe Castle, a crow in the bare branches of a tree, with the crescent moon behind. Through the village of Worth Matravers early, the stone cottages all sleeping, not a soul around.

On the headland, one of those early Spring days that keeps asking itself, "Shall I be Winter? Shall I be Spring? Winter, or Spring? Spring, or Winter?", before deciding on Winter. Icy pale blue sky. Bitter wind. Still the skylarks were rising up singing, perhaps because the sun was out and they couldn't help themselves.

The chalk track from Worth Matravers to St Aldhelm's Head. No shelter from the wind.

Wind-ruffled families of yellowhammers in trees beside the track.

Up on the headland, every spring, in the rough margins of rectangular fields bounded by dry stone walls, hares gather:

I was brave and put the 500mm lens on the camera this morning, hoping for a close-up of a hare, but the hares were all on the far side of the fields, and this was the best shot I could manage.

I bought the lens a few years ago, but I hardly ever use it. It's just too heavy for me to lift: even though it has an image stabiliser, nearly all my shots come out blurred. And it's far to heavy to carry conveniently on walks, and far too big to fit into a camera bag. I mean to sell it one of these days, and maybe buy a 300mm lens instead.

A bit further along the track, and the sea comes into view.

Time to turn for home.

I recently bought a new pair of winter dog-walking trousers cheap on eBay, but it turns out they are not very well-fitting. I spent the entire walk hoicking them up, as they attempted to descend to my knees.

Nearing the car park, we started to meet other walkers, and I went to put Max on the lead. And found I needed two hands to carry the camera with the enormous lens, one hand to clip Max's lead on, and one hand to hold up my trousers. Really not enough hands.