Collecting, Martins

Over on the Dabbler, I speak up for collecting as a way into a relationship with nature (and get straight into trouble). And while we're talking of nature, I was entertained at lunchtime by house martins - there must have been 30 or 40 of them - circling and swooping over Kensington Gardens, calling excitedly to each other and feeding up for the great journey to come. They must be feeling the pull of the South. But while they're here with us, it's still summer in England...