Another Country Diary #6 —Chestnut Day
With chestnut gathering and the spirit of Riddley Walker.
20/10
We set out for a walk after the storm has passed with just an hour of daylight left, then head up to the ‘the top’. In the former corn field we see three roe deer, their white bobble-tails dancing as they flee to the hedge. A dark arm of blue-grey cloud retreats to the north and as it does the light lifts even as the sun falls. The mackerel skies that the storm has left in its wake begin to light up silver then coral. By the time we are walking back along the lanes the sun has set and the residual light feels immense, refracting off every gaseous surface in the sky as the road falls into dusk.
21/10
We get home and change into wellies. The clocks go back soon, which means we won’t be able to walk in daylight after work for much longer, and getting out will be a negotiation around schedules. Off the lanes we spot two muntjac through the gaps in a hedge, seemingly playing, relaxed, in a freshly mown paddock. We watch them for sometime, turning and running…