Good morning

I awoke this morning quite easily at 6, favouring a gentle start I declined the morning chorus’ invitation to rouse myself. So I lay looking up, for once not at the underside of my tarpaulin but at the boughs of the yew tree and the trunks of some half dozen Beeches silhouetted against the lightening sky. Rolling over to face the east I was treated to the sight of the first direct light from the sun cracking white across the horizon. Normally I would lie cut off from such a view closed in by the tarpaulin, the hood of the sleeping bag closed tight across my face and the darkness of the night. Now that spring is here I have cast aside the tarp, perhaps none too wise in light of all the April showers the night so readily provided, and taken a step closer to nature. It was in this spirit that I turned off my radio and let the sound of the bird song wash over me and the minutes gently roll past. A Red Kite sailed overhead as I stretched the sleep from my limbs. It was a slow introduction to the day and by far the nicest I have had for some time.