Nature and her Whiley ways

spring Spring arrives with buds and bees, and the garden starts to Stur, A misty fog lays above the ground, mixed with steam from cow manure. April showers fill brook and burn and the rivers starts to rise, Flood warnings on your phone app appear and you pray for clearer skies. The river level returns, to what it was before, And we thank you Lord, the river did not get past the kitchen door. If you see an oak out in leaf, way before the ash, keep your brolly handy, for there will be a splash. But if you see the ash, in leaf well before the oak, put the kettle on and stay indoors and be ready for a soke. But put no stock in old wives’ tales, they never seem to work, For the oak and ash have conspired; to make you look a berk. Never cast a clout till May is out, another saying from the past, But an El Niño year has you in its sights and winds come thick and fast. You plant the seedlings, for flowering plants and weed out all the duds, Till a late frost comes out of the blue and knocks off all your buds. Unperturbed you soldier on and replant geraniums in the ground, Then Casper (our cat) digs them up again and leaves a deposit to be found. summer Summers hear and the sun comes out, for me a time to fear, The reason being my time in cypress and being boiled there once a year. But in this place, I call my home I find a shady spot, Out of the way upon a seat, I rest my weary bott. I weather the heat and live in hope, to feel a summer breeze, Then Hay fever reappears and makes me want to sneeze. All that heat and sunshine will make me sweat, and my body feel quite queer, But summer heat is Prity rare and its only once a year. Autumn An Indian summer and lots of Berries, upon a bush of brash, Indicate a winter, to freeze a monkey made of brass. When you speak and tell your mates of what the sines foretell, Remember that I told you so and may it ring a little bell. For nature she will fool you, into saying lots of things, And keep you in the dark, about what the winter brings. winter Winter comes and with hail and snow and piles against your door, It wasn’t this bad this time last year. Or even the year before. Frosty patterns from your childhood, creeping up the window glass, But romantic notions fade away, as you slip and land upon your back side. The patterns from the frost, really are quite amazing, Then you remember winter bills, thank goodness for the double glazing. Don’t get me wrong I love it here, and would never want to go, I find there is something to behold in sun, rain, sleet and snow. But the heat has always been my nemesis, and I will hide away, For the one thing that you can guarantee, is 4 seasons in one day. Andy Jones