Day 0098

Itchy feet. Came close to booking tickets to Paris for the Salon du Dessin, but saw the quality of the work (or lack of it) and decided against it. Wanted to go to the Netherlands for the Jheronimus Bosch exhibition, but it is sold out until May. Walk in the countryside instead. Birdsong is what I get here more than anywhere else.

When shall I see the white thorn leaves agen
And yellowhammers gath'ring the dry bents
By the dyke side on stilly moor or fen
Feathered wi love and natures good intents
Rude is the nest this Architect invents
Rural the place wi cart ruts by dyke side
Dead grass, horse hair and downy headed bents
Tied to dead thistles she doth well provide
Close to a hill o' ants where cowslips bloom
And shed o'er meadows far their sweet perfume
In early Spring when winds blow chilly cold
The yellowhammer trailing grass will come
To fix a place and choose an early home
With yellow breast and head of solid gold.
John Clare, The Yellowhammer