A few days ago I was in the woods and my trail disappeared. I had to wade through tangles of shrubs and branches on a hot summer day. But all my impatience disappeared when I chanced upon large patches of wild raspberry canes, more and more of them, and I was able to keep tasting raspberries constantly as I struggled through the undergrowth until I came to the more sparse vegetation and could walk comfortably again.

They were crowded into their nest, and I moved slowly so as not to startle them. I got exactly one shot and they exploded outwards and were gone, fluttering around in our machine shed before settling on the rafters or random high points. The parents scolded me loudly.