</>Moss covered stones line the river’s edge,
thus there is no need to dredge.
Water’s flowing swiftly on its way,
for it cannot ever stay.
A prying vole peeps, sussing the scene,
with his nose alert and keen.
He ventures forth to forage about,
far from his discreet hideout.
But shy is he, when disturbed he’ll flee.
sanctioning no scrutiny.
I see insects, they all please the eyes,
ladybirds and butterflies.
Swarms of gnats gyrate and pirouette,
above playful ripples, wet.
May flies hover in the warming sun,
as their forerunners have done.
Buzzing bees searching for nectar new,
among the wild flowers, pursue.
Grasshoppers jumping around my feet,
chirping loudly, one, to greet.
A robin smart, sits upon a fence,
could his braveness be pretence.
Nettles and grasses coating the banks,
are the backdropp for greenshanks
Those sandpipers, who motionless, peer
into shallows, crystal clear.
A speckled thrush sings out to his mate,
wondrous notes I hear vibrate
Across the fields, such a dulcet sound,
whilst I’m walking, homeward bound.
© Ernestine Northover
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