Country diary: The calm after the storm | John Gilbey

Comins Coch, Ceredigion: The winds have died down, so I head out on an eerily still morning among frozen fallen leaves and emerging catkinsThe bitter wind from the east rattles around the house, upturning plant pots and causing a number of worryingly loud crashes in the gathering dusk. The gale peaks around dawn, then blows itself out to leave an uncannily still, clear morning.In the lane, a deeply eroded trackway of indeterminate age, a fresh rash of fallen branches marks the passage of the storm, while a pair of jays dispute hoarsely in the fragment of woodland beside the stream. Continue reading…