The swallows and house martins have arrived, but our grumpy, lonely heron has left for his annual trip to the heronry. Heronries are like rookeries for giants, with sometimes more than 100 pairs nesting together. They occur all over Britain, including within major cities-there's one in London's Regent's Park.
The grey heron is an enormous bird, almost the size of a golden eagle, and our little valley feels empty without Old Frank, as they call grey herons in Suffolk. I hope he enjoys the company.
The trout in the River Meon won't miss such an expert fisherman, but they will have to contend with my humble efforts. Having watched Old Frank stalk his quarry over the winter, I've promised to try and emulate his stealth.
At this time of year, I hope for a hatch of the hawthorn fly, a black insect with long, conspicuously jointed limbs. It's a bit of an oddity, as it lives on the land and only falls into the water by chance, but the trout absolutely love them. The same is true of daddy-long-legs later in the year. It's a case of Carpe Diem for the trout and, hopefully, me.
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‘Reactions to the French in the 1870s varied from outrage to curious interest’: Impressionism's painstaking ten year journey to be taken seriously by the BritsClaude Monet and Camille Pissarro spent time in London, but it took James McNeill Whistler to act as artistic bridge with Britain and the ‘sweetened’ Impressionism of Jules Bastien-Lepage to inspire most homegrown painters.
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Rogue sellers and puppy farmers are exploiting Government licensing loopholes at the expense of responsible dog breeders, says The Kennel ClubThe Kennel Club launched a report in the House of Commons last week calling for an urgent review of current licensing regulations.
