Long Summer Evening

Song thrush - an extraordinary performance, so varied you think 'what on earth is that?!'	Field rose trails over the hedgerow	Dog rose (which has no hips at present) forms an arcing bush in its own right	Chiff-chaffs are around, very recognisable from that 'chiff- chaff . . . ' song but there are only a few willow warblers singing this year

Field rose and dog rose are in flower along the Balk, song thrush and chiff-chaff are singing at the entrance to the wood. Boys swing on a rope on one of the ash trees by the quarry (well, one neighbour's boy isn't swinging this evening because he's got his arm in a pot but that's boys for you).

The Descent of Man

'Are humans sea creatures?' they asked me the other day.

'Well, we were probably descended from sea creatures, but that's millions of years ago.'

This seemed to settle the dispute for them: he explained that his friend had told him that humans are mammals and mammals are sea creatures. So it had seems logical to assume we are sea creatures too.

Tonight in the wood it's our closer relatives in the animal world that come to mind.

Algal Bloom

Frothy patches of green algae float on the canal which is covered in a thin, patchy oily film. I guess this is caused by the algal bloom rather than by oil pollution. Two anglers are fishing: so far the roach seem to be coping with it. A fish leaps out of the water, probably catching a low-flying insect on this still summer evening - rather than gasping for breath.

The honeysuckle smells delicious; the sweet scent is wafting in through the patio window as I write this at 10 p.m. and it's still fairly light outside.

Richard Bell, richard@willowisland.co.uk