23rd February 2022 … Terminalia

In celebration of the ancient Roman god Terminus, god of boundaries, whose festival is 23rd February … I walked the shoreline of my imaginary lockdown island – Contención Island (https://martinpeccles.com/other-sound-works/contencion-island/). Although I’ve waked this in sections before, I have never previously walked it in one go.

So, starting at about 05:50 I walked through the dawn and ended at 10:00 – four hours – the length of the shoreline was about 11 miles and the walk total was about 12 once I add in the distance from my house to the shore. Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t much of a dawn chorus along the shoreline in February … and it was quite windy … force 4 to 5 gusting 6 to 7.

I started in the small bay to the southwest and walked clockwise, with the sun; Happy Terminalia.

A walk round Contención Island Day 24 Saturday November 28th

Saturday November 28th, 10:03 – 10:09

77.1o to 90.0o

Wind NW 1 (gusting 2), T 1C (feels like 0C), 50% cloud cover

Two mallards scoot out
from the laurel     stop      and preen
looking over a bridge

Water frozen in the butt
frost crisps the grass
and whitens winter stalks

Synchronized clatter
of sticks       sword dancers or perhaps
a martial art

 

 

 

A walk round Contención Island Day 23 Friday November 27th

Friday November 27th, 07:25 – 07:41

51.4o to 62.3o

Wind SW 1 (gusting 2), T 2C (feels like 2C), 75% cloud cover

The blackbird watches
as I approach       then flies
lost into the dawn

The jackdaw mob hangs
at the dark end of the street
crotchet dots on ariels

Crossing the dene where
blackcap sang to chiffchaff’s call
memories of May

 

A walk round Contención Island Day 21 Wednesday November 25th

Wednesday November 25th, 09:24 – 09:36

38.6o to 51.4o

Wind W 2 (gusting 4), T 7C (feels like 7C), 37% cloud cover

Pressed by hard and loud
on churchyard grass my pace slows
I breath more slowly

I follow a desire path
round the churchyard edge
metros trundle past

Blackbirds abound
foraging in the ivy
the back of the churchyard

Two war graves
I hadn’t noticed before
sandstone rather than marble