Stillness. Not an absolute, closed quiet, but an awesome vastness - a solitary absence of the hum and tinker of humanity. The caw of the Canada Jay, and the tuneless bonging of the horses’ bells break the silence without cluttering its huge dimensions.

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The grass is working against odds here, hindered by dying drifts of rotten snow, and sharp chilly wind. Peer around the bank, however, and discover a knot of juicy marsh marigolds, and further still, a spectrum of bluebells, butter-and-eggs, lupine and paintbrush.