Country diary: After many false starts, spring has reached the islands

Grimbister, Orkney: In the late evening glow, the local birdlife was swooping into action - truly a bad day to be a voleMy fourth winter on the island was, as I've come to expect, long and wet, the wind grabbing doors as you turn the handle and flinging them open. We've had false starts before, but this week the change in the season finally felt real - a spring we could trust. Almost a whole week of sun, barely a cloud in the sky. All around, skylarks are lifting as smoothly and cleanly as elevators into the still air.Yesterday evening, I loaded the horse into the trailer and trundled down the road to the community arena. The Old Finstown Road cuts inland between Keelylang and Wideford Hill, through pastureland then open heath. The road is winding, so I took it steady, windows open, soaking up the late golden light gilding the soft curves of the land. Continue reading...