Pussy willow

Did you leave a bunch of pussy willow, daffodils and irises on a doorstep in Wolverhampton?

It would have been on or around the twenty eighth of February, nineteen seventy two. They were for a young couple and their new baby.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you.

Pussy willow, goat willow or great sallow Salix caprea

A very common shrub found all over the British Isles; both the common and scientific names reflect the fondness of goats for this willow’s early spring foliage. But most people know it as pussy willow.

Confession

At the start of the longest continuous slope  (in England) I would carefully and quickly pluck a whole rose and hold it in my hand. Inhale the perfume and, once past the houses, peel each calamine pink petal from its base and let it fall to the ground.

The petals followed me like footprints and a jury of bees would have found me guilty.

It was wrong and I apologise.

Swifts and swallows

We stood on a bridge and watched the birds below.

Black swifts and blue swallows, swimming and swooping through the air.