. Woodland, field and shore : wild nature depicted with pen and camera . overedwith the yellowest of buttercups. Some are tall,standing high above the others, and on the strongerstems Whinchats settle and give forth their song. Where buttercups are more thinly provided daisies 227 228 WOODLAND, FIELD, AND SHORE fill the gap, their white star-like faces being turnedtowards the sun. Butterflies—-bluer than the sky—flit here and there in the sunshine, and Tortoiseshellbutterflies also are about; and nearer the orchard Orange-tips areskimming beyond thehedge, in the wood,grows a silver
. Woodland, field and shore : wild nature depicted with pen and camera . overedwith the yellowest of buttercups. Some are tall,standing high above the others, and on the strongerstems Whinchats settle and give forth their song. Where buttercups are more thinly provided daisies 227 228 WOODLAND, FIELD, AND SHORE fill the gap, their white star-like faces being turnedtowards the sun. Butterflies—-bluer than the sky—flit here and there in the sunshine, and Tortoiseshellbutterflies also are about; and nearer the orchard Orange-tips areskimming beyond thehedge, in the wood,grows a silver pop-lar, and its leavesrustle as the windturns them up, andwhen the sunbeamscatch their under-side they are asbright as the wave-lets on the grasses, nearthe stream, areconstantly sway-ing as Reed-Bunt-ings alight ontheir they havea brood, and are feeding them every few among the daisies, and surrounded by butter-cups, there is a Sky-Larks nest with four eggs. Thehen is sitting, and high up over the flowers her mate. REED-BUNTING (hEN) ON REED. BUTTERCUP MEADOW 229 circles, carolling forth his song of love, making thosewho hear it more happy, while adding to the joy ofa radiant spring morning. As I rest among yellow flowers, listening to hissong and watching butterflies and the antics of tinyblue dragonflies dancing over the grass, thoughtswander back to past summers, when the great oaknear the wood w-as younger, but still stood up asthe centre of similar scenes. What would onenot give to look on some of the sights of mediaevaldays which this now rugged weather-worn treehas stood among. Here Tudor and Stuart kingshunted the stag, and an old writer, speaking ofEnfield Chase, of w^hich this meadow forms part,says of it : A solitary desert, yet stord withnot less than three thousand deere. Desert isa misnomer for a piece of charming wild countrythe like of which Middlesex will never possessagain. I can imagine that along this se
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectnatural, bookyear1901
