June 24th 2014

I've been up and about more or less since 03.30 this morning. We're going through a mini heatwave in the UK at the moment. Daytime temperatures around the 20-25oC mark and night-time temperatures around 15oC, not a cloud in the sky day and night either, just wonderful. The only real downside is that its hot in the evening, and tonight it was just a shade too over to the warm side for a relaxing sleep. I first woke at 3am and looked out the window. It's mid June so even at that time the sky to the north east was brightening, inperceprtably so but it was there. There was nothing for it other than to enjoy a bedtime raid to the fridge. That completed I tried to get back to sleep but failed. I gave up. Leaning out of the bedroom window all was still, all was silent, but in that 30 minutes diference the sky had really changed. Having the camera next to me I set it onto a 4 second exposure time and manage to capture the brilliance of the blue and the deep red on the horizon. It really was like this at 03.30am. Then, all of a sudden I heard a skylark. I'veheard this before in Wiltshire, skylarks heralding the arrival of the dawn before the more customary robins and blackbirds. Craning my neck, or maybe that should be craning my ears, yes, there it was one, possibly 2 skylarks. Can there be a better alarm call for a producer of Tweet of the Day. Tier lone bust lasted about two or 3 minutes before a blackbird began to sing and withing five minutes the landscape was alive with birdsong. It is late in the season for dawn chorus's but like me I think the avian population is enjoying this summer heatwave in song. I returned to bed, and, throwing all the windows wide open lay ther ein the gathering light listening to the birds, a cool breeze wafting over me as I lay there. Well done June 24th, you emerged into my life superbly.