These are the days of swan nests and duck eggs, but the call of a lone swan circling overhead, perhaps captures more precisely the tensions we feel moving through the seasons.
The seasonal shifts in the activity of the swans and ducks are becoming increasingly visible reflecting the wider patterns of movement. Boats leaving and others moving in. Everything is in a state of transition; we are all in a state of transition.
Journal entry:
“13th March, Saturday.
Sitting here in the well deck, at the messy edge of late winter in the silence before dawn, the world feels as blank as the year, but everywhere is full of life to come that will occur in summer.
The life still unborn,
the bees, dragon flies,
the gnats that will dance above the waters.
And then there will be the ducks that I will meet
who will perplex me with their behaviour.
And the loosestrife flare
and dandelion globe,
the shimmer of light through silver birch leaves that are yet unformed.
The smell of rain on hot pavements
the nettle flower I will see
and the millions I will miss.
Do swallows darting across African skies, as I sit here,
dream of English summers as I do?”
General Details
In the intro and the outro, Saint-Saen's The Swan is performed by Karr and Bernstein (1961) and available on CC at archive.org.
Two-stroke narrowboat engine recorded by 'James2nd' on the River weaver, Cheshire. Uploaded to Freesound.org on 23rd June 2018. Creative Commons Licence.
Piano interludes composed and performed by Helen Ingram.
All other audio recorded on site.
Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:
I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com
Support the showBecome a 'Lock-Wheeler'
Would you like to support this podcast by becoming a 'lock-wheeler' for Nighttime on Still Waters? Find out more: 'Lock-wheeling' for Nighttime on Still Waters.
Contact
For pictures of Erica and images related to the podcasts or to contact me, follow me on:
I would love to hear from you. You can email me at nighttimeonstillwaters@gmail.com or drop me a line by going to the nowspod website and using either the contact form or, if you prefer, record your message by clicking on the microphone icon.
For more information about Nighttime on Still Waters
You can find more information and photographs about the podcasts and life aboard the Erica on our website at noswpod.com.
