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Journal › swifts
Swift report
I heard a scream of swifts high above the park in West Bridgford on 2nd May, but didn’t see them, the sky obstructed by trees. Today, 7th May — five days later and on the same date as last year, I saw the first swifts above our house.
Previously: 2023, 7th; 2022, 11th; 2021, 16th; 2020, 5th; 2019, 9th; 2018, 7th; 2017, 11th.
The globe’s still working
Our swifts returned today, 7th May, a sign that “the globe’s still working” and “our Summer’s still all to come” (Ted Hughes’ Swifts). Previously: 2022, 11th; 2021, 16th; 2020, 5th; 2019, 9th; 2018, 7th; 2017, 11th.
This year, the warming climate also bought Alpine swifts to our shores, as early as March, but I haven’t seen one yet.
The swifts have returned
Our swifts returned today. 2021, 16th; 2020, 5th; 2019, 9th; 2018, 7th; 2017, 11th. ‘Our Summer’s all still to come.’
The swifts are here!
They’ve made it again,
Which means the globe’s still working, the Creation’s
Still waking refreshed, our summer’s
Still all to come
The Sneinton swifts are a little late this year — 2017, 11th; 2018, 7th; 2019, 9th; 2020, 5th — but they’re here, opening the skies with their screeching and filling me with optimism.
The swifts are back
The swifts are back, screeching high in the skies above Sneinton. They always return this week in May, around teatime. Bird migration is a welcome reminder that despite everything, the world still turns and seasons change.
Internet of Natural Things
What do I mean by “Internet of Natural Things”? Well, let’s ease in with a brief explanation of this positive take on digital technology.
Waking in Florence
I awake to a beautiful Summer’s morning in the Boboli District. The heat has me out of bed unusually early, and I find myself on our balcony garden, looking across the terracotta rooftops of Florence.