Emu and The Wraith of Tony Hart

If memory serves a TV frog once proclaimed that "it's not easy being green"

Before the wrong end of the stick is selected and we assume another examination of the Cove Gove and his latest push for the top job. The green I refer to is the injection of chlorophyl that currently surges through the turf in these parts and the verdant ranunculus that will need cutting in April for the first time in five springs and well done the winter rain for that.

Apologies Kermit (Jim Henson's creation not the Cove Gove) but it's very easy being green in this valley. I'll refrain from mentioning Oz again, but while we were basking in two weeks of sun the aquifers of old Albion seemed to have received some serious replenishment.

The Dever is bank high and there are some spots that may be inaccessible to anglers in the opening weeks of the season. There is an oft quoted downstream keeper of no little venerability who insists that we have only had enough winter rain if you have to think twice about driving around the meadows in your 4x4. Well today I got in a tight spot with the tractor and trailer and if all it takes to make it rain in these parts is for Madam and myself to undertake long haul flights and live high on the hog on the other side of the world then I propose a crowd funding page to send the pair of us away for a fortnight sometime next March.

It's a cross we are prepared to bear for the good of the river and sufficient aquifer replenishment.

By the way, this:

Hosah! water in the spring ditch by the football pitch.

But despite what some would describe as a "wet winter" still no sign of any eau in the field known across the ages as "Spring Bottom"

Chronic depletion of the aquifers anyone?

Been building a bridge for much of the week. Replacing one I built in 1995 a few months after William was born. I find that I banged posts into the ground with a little more vigour when I was 27 and these replacements may not have gone into the gravel quite as far as they did 23 years ago so if we could all agree to break step and cross fingers during each crossing.

I am chucking up this guff in the garden replete having devoured a fine repast of locally sourced red meat.

Sourced that is from the barbecue that rises again each Easter from the garage to provide us with a festival of meat and fish.

I have just heard a cuckoo for the first time this year. A few weeks later than one would expect, but a cuckoo all the same. No sign of any swallows, swifts or martins yet although I have seen hawthorn flies bumbling about in the recent warm spell and was inundated with alder flies landing on posts I was banging into the riverbed. I may have squished the odd one so apologies to the Invertebrate gods who may reiprocate via the medium of horse fly later in the year.

Our resident pair of swans currently nurture their egg and are increasingly protective of their prospective charge. The Cob spent much of yesterday lunchtime raging against the scaffold tower I had positioned in the river to aid my building of bridges. Charging it every five minutes with wings held wide, he may share my affliction of myopia.


Grayling have appeared on the shallows and with a reasonable depth of water, have gone about the business of spawning unnoticed by heron and egret who do great damage in times of low water. Some seriously senior hen fish of over two pounds have been kicking up on the ford through the Mill Stream.

In other news, Lord Ludgershall has added to the house menagerie.

Here's one of an Emu tapping at the door of the Orangery attached to the East wing at Ludgershall Hall. I know it's an Emu because our guide pointed one out to us on our recent trip to Oz (did I mention we'd been away?).

Dodos are promised, along with a Pushmepullyou and Griffon to further bolster the collection of wildlife at Ludgershall Hall.

Apologies about the unusual appearance of the photos in this post.

Setting S was accidentally selected on the idiot proof camera while it was bouncing about in the back of my trailer, or it may still be something to do with jet lag.

No matter, setting S it is and S stands for "gloom" on planet Nikon so I have had to fill in the colours on the computer.

Derek Acorah confirms that the wraith of Tony Hart approves of such work.