· Wirral ·
A grim, billowy, drizzle-filled day. No walk on the marshes for me. Instead, I sit in the car and pretend to write. There has been a high tide. Canada geese and lapwings have gathered around the flood-pools, although it’s hard to make them out through the rain.
Later, at the marsh-side car park in Gayton, two unexpected signs of spring: a blackthorn tree full of white blossom—next autumn’s sloes; and a black-headed gull, magnificent in its eponymous summer plumage.
February is by far my least favourite month. This year, to add insult to injury, it’s been given an extra day. But spring can’t be all that far away.
