The clocks moving forward for summer is one thing. Our adherence to clocks is another. So I thought about what I do in the three months when the swifts visit us from Africa.
SWIFTS’ SUMMERTIME
From the first sighting of the swifts to their farewell, see you next year.
Awakening
Sunrise less thirty minutes. When the shimmer on the eastern edge is the outrider of dawn. When the Blackbird calls.
It is not a time to drive a vehicle or turn on the media.
Rising
Sunrise. When the earth rolls round and lifts the sun into the sky. When our colours waken and the earth and sky shimmer and the day’s concert opens.
It is time to tiptoe and whisper.
Walking
Normal leaving hour – leave thirty minutes earlier. Walking towards work.
It is time for listening and humming and feeling the earth and sky.
Nourishment
When you are hungry in the middle of the day and give yourself two hours. When the summer warms our bodies through to the heart.
It is time to give your body nourishment and rest in the sun.
Standing Still
When the sun sets. When the colours deepen and red glows and only swifts circle high and cry out. The air cools, noise subsides and the stars shine.
It is time to be still and remember. Music is kind.