Country diary 1971: transient splendour of sunrise over the fen

16 September 1971: Through a haze of rose countless geometric webs of spiders bridge darkling gaps, glittering and opalescent

NORFOLK: Sunrise over the fen on these autumn mornings brings transient splendour to a realm of dew-wet reeds and a lingering cloak of mist. Through a haze of rose which turns to gold countless geometric webs of spiders bridge darkling gaps, glittering and opalescent. Spear-leaves and drooping purple reed-plumes are beaded with silver and the pincushion umbels of angelica are pricked out with a million diamond points of light. Tassels of hemp-agrimony and magenta spires of loosestrife achieve a brightness and perfection which beautifies them, while white bellbines shine with the pallor of fading stars through the morning vapours. There is a scent of water mint distilled from the night. The air is so still that even the gossamer does not tremble. The reed-warblers have gone; there is no chorus of chattering and husky music to greet the new day; but presently a wren trills, a woodpecker's chipping" breaks the silence of the nearby woods, and bullfinches utter plaintive whistles in the sallow bushes. A pheasant wakes in a sedgy jungle roost and rises like a rocket, scattering the dew in its rude progress and raising a general alarm.

Related: An exuberance of life on the undrained fen