No conversation at all, birdsong and gently rustling leaves create a welcoming haven on a lazy summer evening.
On a late summer’s afternoon on the banks of the river Cart a light breeze springs up to cool the heat of the day. Soon the sun will set and settle behind the trees, the clear blue of the sky will start to darken, and this whole river vista will be transformed.
Steadily the rays of the sun become increasingly slant turning the river’s surface into liquid gold. Now streaks of yellow, red and blue reach out across the water in a magical, dazzling display that can only be seen during the quiet, cloudless days, of early summer evenings. And then, in the afterglow, the sky slowly turns to a deep shade of blue black and you become enfolded in the cool, stillness of the night.
Standing on this evening path, the only sound to be heard is the lapping of water as the river continues its journey downstream. This is the ancient background sound which has played out along this watercourse for thousands of years, a natural rhythm that has spanned ecological periods far longer than our fleeting human life spans. Turning seasons; how many summers have people stood here and listened to the gentle swish of the Cart searching its way towards the Clyde and the open sea? Pleasantly cool but still warm enough to linger here for a while, with the dark sky above and the inky waters below stretching out to the very ends of the earth, it seems like one is standing at the edge of infinity.
And thanks to Bernie for this photograph of a Goosander.
