Solway Firth Haibun

We drove north today to visit my dad, it is the start of the main school holiday and the traffic was less problematic than I had expected and we spent a glorious few hours up on the Solway Firth throwing sticks in the water for the dog and enjoying a lazy amble at High tide. The marsh was thronging with walkers fervently following in the footsteps of their forefathers along the route of Hadrian’s wall which separated Scotland from England in Roman times. It keeps this part of the Solway alive and buzzing in the summer months. The church where I got married is open to the public and there is a small kitchen and some supplies and an honesty box for weary travellers who stop by on their journey.

By late afternoon when we began our journey home the sun was beating down and it was much hotter and I longed for air-conditioning in my little Kia Rio. Along the motorway the traffic snaked its way south and even at the top of Shap it was quite clearly the height of summer, there was a constant train of caravans travelling northward to Scotland as we meandered our way down through Tebay. Blink and it will be gone and already in Whangarei NZ the magnolias are in bloom as they head towards spring. Time and tide stop for no man.

Wild roses blossom

Heat haze on the horizon

Swifts fly south to Spain.

©Alison Jean Hankinson

This is for Haibun monday at d’Verse. Where we were given the following directions:

Today is Free For All – meaning, you can choose your subject for the haibun. However there are still some rules: The haibun must be one to three tight paragraphs (2) Ended with a haiku (containing kigo and kireji words – season and cutting words) (3) Must be true (4) Must have actually happened to you.

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Author: alisonhankinson

Walking tall whenever I can.

16 thoughts on “Solway Firth Haibun”

  2. Your dog is so cute! Nice haibun full of description and action. I love your haiku. I also liked your use of swifts in the haibun. We don’t have them over here so it gave a nice snapshot of where and when.

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      1. I know. The summer, mercifully, moves quickly. I love the growing season of things but I find it hard to deal with the heat.

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  3. You’ve made me wonder if our swifts have gone too. They’re there on a sunny day, you have a few days of gloom and rain, and they’re gone. I wish they wouldn’t do that. Lovely haiku by the way 🙂

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  4. Such an enjoyable read, Alison! I was there with you. I would love to travel up that way again and walk Hadrian’s Wall – maybe next year. I hope you didn’t suffer too much on the way home, what with the heat and the ‘shed-draggers’ (as my husband calls caravans). We get a lot of holidaymakers with caravans around here in the summer and it’s a pain when you’re trying to get somewhere. I love the heat haze haiku!

    Wild roses blossom

    Heat haze on the horizon

    Swifts fly south to Spain.

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  5. The caravans heading one way and the swifts heading the other…if only the caravans could move as quickly…we get the same thing down here in the south west – it’s great to be going in the opposite direction. Love your haiku.

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  8. You describe a near perfect summer outing. Of course, it would be perfect without summer’s heat, but it added to the feeling of the piece. Your haiku carries the theme on it’s way

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  13. I feel like I was throwing sticks in the water with you and your dad! 🙂 Thank you for taking me with you. Summer is meant for times like these.
    And oh yes…..that heat haze on the horizon….in the city it’s like the steam rises up from the sidewalks and cement.

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