Grain time.

The green is turning golden out in the fields and meadows. Hay is being cut and the kites and buzzards follow the tractors, eagerly spying the desperate mice seeking new shelter. A kite once gifted me a wing feather and I marveled at the streamlined curves that slices through the high winds unseen.

The grain is ripening if the weather stays fair and rustles and whispers to each other in the breezes that rush across the nodding ears. Poppies dot the edges and lift lonely bright faces in amongst crops, defying herbicides.

Illustration of a wheat stalk with golden grains and green leaves.
A red poppy flower standing tall among green wheat stalks in a vast field under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

July is butterfly time, a gentle addition to the hedgerows as they bob seemingly so aimlessly about. The pure delight of watching a pair dance together as they trace invisible weaves in the air. Speckled wood, marble whites, holly blues and the big guys, red admirals, peacocks and if we are lucky painted ladies, commas and maybe a fritillary.

Close-up of a butterfly with eye-like patterns on its wings perched on white flowers amidst green foliage.
A butterfly with black and white patterned wings perched on a white flower among green foliage.
A blue butterfly resting on a grass stalk in a field.
Wildflowers at sunset with sunlight shining through the flowers and a cloudy sky.
Green abstract design with spirals, leaves, and a branch.

Amber embrace from the slipping sleepy sun, heading westward over the lip of my world.

Dancing motes of little illuminated lives jiggle up and down over the gossiping grasses.

Jackdaws hastily discuss their day, interrupting each other rudely whilst still stalking the meadows, wings folded neatly.

The backlit sorrel is meadow embers, a fire without flames, warmth with no heat. 

And I linger in the liminal last moments, pining for a summer still here, but one I can tell is already wandering away. 

July 2025

Black and white tattoo-style illustration of a ram's head with curved horns, surrounded by leaves and swirls. A full moon and stars are in the background.
A small grassy hill with stone formations and steps leading up to the top, surrounded by trees in a park.

Waylands Smithy

Thoughts turn towards the coming harvests and the turn of the wheel is felt as the light noticeably diminishes from mid July. The birds no longer sing so loudly, if at all. Broods have been raised and they are preparing for winter with new feathers and replacing the lost energy. Some swifts may be considering leaving and I will miss their screeching calls overhead.

The moon of July is the Buck Moon or the Claim Moon.

This is a perfect month to audit your digital use. The dopamine addiction of our phones is real and until you step back you won’t realise just how often you reach for your phone. Try ‘parking’ it in your bag or another room at mealtimes and when with friends or family. Use a traditional alarm clock instead of your smartphone to wake up. Purge your notifications, make it on your terms instead.

Indulge your inner child this month too, have a go on a swing, paddle at the beach, play rounders with friends, go camping even if in only in the garden. Who said being an adult has to be dull?

Close-up of a barley or wheat field under a partly cloudy sky.
A field of red poppies under a cloudy sky with some dark and some light clouds, and trees on the horizon.
Bright red poppies growing among tall green wheat stalks under a partly cloudy sky.
A large, upright stone standing in a grassy field under cloudy skies.

The cove at Avebury