Monday 7 April 2014

A Spring Monday and the Cuckoo






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"Our" Cuckoo that lives in the little forest nearby has arrived!
This year about two weeks earlier than past years.

...CUCKOO - CUCKOO - CUCKOO...
he greets me every morning.

An unmistakable sound that Spring is really here!


Blossoms - Blossoms.....


....it's green and blooming on every corner...



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To the Cuckoo

By William Wordsworth




"O blithe New-comer! I have heard,
I hear thee and rejoice.
O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,
Or but a wandering Voice?"...




"While I am lying on the grass
Thy twofold shout I hear;
From hill to hill it seems to pass,
At once far off, and near."





"Though babbling only to the Vale
Of sunshine and of flowers,
Thou bringest unto me a tale
Of visionary hours."



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"Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!
Even yet thou art to me
No bird, but an invisible thing,
A voice, a mystery;"



"The same whom in my school-boy days
I listened to; that Cry
Which made me look a thousand ways
In bush, and tree, and sky."




"To seek thee did I often rove
Through woods and on the green;
And thou wert still a hope, a love;
Still longed for, never seen."

 

"And I can listen to thee yet;
Can lie upon the plain
And listen, till I do beget
That golden time again."

 Elizabeth Gould or Edward Lear.  Goulds Birds of Europe: The Common Cuckoo 1837


"O blessèd Bird! the earth we pace
Again appears to be
An unsubstantial, faery place;
That is fit home for Thee!"
(William Wordsworth)




First blossoms at one of the tree peonies!



HAPPY  SPRING !



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6 comments:

  1. Happy Spring! What gorgeousness. No cuckoos here, but the robins are chirping about spring loudly each morning and I just love it. So much beauty and wonder this time of year - hope you enjoy every minute. XO

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  2. Ahhhhh - spring!!! Thanks for the tour around your garden, Karin! Such pretty flowers. And lovely to meet your friends :) We have mostly robins, cardinals and mourning doves in DC. The robins love to hang around our garden because I throw them worms :)
    Cheers,
    Loi

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  3. Hello Karin

    This is absolutely beautiful. How fortunate you are to have the Cuckoo arrive ahead of schedule. I recall the cuckoo song when I was a child in Ireland. We had a rhyme: "In May she sings all day, In June she changes her tune, In July she sails to fly and in August go she must"

    Your garden is spectacular
    Helen xx

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  4. Stunning images and such beautiful words Karin. I do so wish the Cuckoo would visit us. The image of the green spider visiting the Narcissus is gorgeous. The scent of Lilac and Choisya together in your garden must be so dreamy. Happy Springtime!
    Paul

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  5. Dear Karin, Such beautiful images. It has been many years since I have heard a Cuckoo. Will you please tell him to stay until we arrive in September. Tickets are purchased. Email is coming your way.

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  6. Are your lilacs really blooming? And your hyacinths? And tree peonies?
    What a corner of paradise you live in! And are there cuckoos in France? I always thought they were only in England!
    "Aprille is icumen in, lhude singe cuckoo ---"
    I am happy life is clement for you, and you in return make it beautiful for all of us!
    My French conversation group has just discovered the word "coucou" as informal hello, and are busily hailing one another, making up a little for the absence of the bird itself.

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