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Genius loci

 At the back end of last week, I heard a sound which told me Autumn had truly arrived.

It seemed out of place, as we sweltered in unseasonable warmth, but it is as reliable an indicator if the seasons turning as leaves browning. A slightly comical, slightly mournful honking, early in the morning then again at the turn of the day

The pink-footed geese are back.

It is one of those sounds which is part of the fabric of this place, the siren being tested at Ashworth Hospital means it's Monday, Bringing practice means it's Tuesday, and the migration of the Pinks to their wintering grounds at Martin Mere means it's time to dig the jumpers out.

It is one thing I do think I'd miss if I moved away. The arrival of these faintly ludicrous birds, strung out loosely against the sky in their rough v formations is something which seems to have burrowed its way deep into my consciousness, a sign that yes, things are definitely not all they could be, but some things are still working. The Sun still rises and sets and there will always be one frantically honking goose which has lost track of the rest and is working like buggery to catch them up. It's something I don't consciously look out for, but, as with the arrival of the Swifts in summer, one moment they're not there and the next they are, and the world has changed for the next few months.

Autumn has always been my favourite season, and I think it's largely because of this sense of things changing, the background noise is different, there are new sensations to look forward to, for some reason, that first, bathetic call as they come in from Iceland and Greenland is what triggers it for me

I suppose it has something to do with a sense of place, as well. It's quite grounding, you feel you know that you are where you are. A slightly absurd thing to think, I know, as surely one is where one is at all times, but Ormskirk feels more like Ormskirk with geese honking overhead, whether or not that is a good thing I'll leave it up to the reader to decide, but from my perspective, it's nice to have them back.

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