This week has seen cereals "turning." You know, when the green suddenly goes just a little bit golden, and a shimmer of colour wash goes across the field.
I've noticed ears of wheat which are just starting to gain faint touches of colour to them, and other fields are beginning to see the green fading away from stems and leaves.
Potatoes, too, are turning. The purple flowers of Maris Peer are starting to show, the leaves already bulked up tremendously in the past couple of weeks.
There does not seem to be much happening on the wildlife front. Kestrels seem common but most other birds must have taken to the nest, although the longer vegetation hides a lot of the birds with youngsters rummaging about on the ground.
Music on the Moss: I've been listening to 5 Hand Reel this week. Scottish folksinger Dick Gaughan is perhaps the pre-eminent voice, though the contribution made by the other group members can't be overlooked. Tom Hickland's fiddle playing matches Gaughan's dexterity on the guitar, while Bobby Eaglesham's vocals and guitars provide a tonal contast. Barry Lyon's bass playing is really good, far heavier and intricate than you might expect for a folk band. And then there is Dave Tulloch in the crash-bang-wallop department. His drumming sets 5 Hand Reel apart from other folk-rockers. It has that distinctive Scottish marching band feel and he really set up a driving, swaying rhythm. The actual marching band drumming is tremendous [but only if you've ever taking part in walking days and processions and had to line up behind the band!]. I remember seeing them live several times and they were great crowd-pleasers. Well worth a listen, though it's handy to have a Scotsman standing by to help understand some of the lyrics. Kempy's Hat is a fine tune, Wee Wee German Lairdie is a fine song, the Haughs O' Cromdale is a particularly fine song very well arranged, and the band do some admirable treatments of Rabbie Burns.

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