BACK TO LIFE
Verity Milligan looks forward to a summer of colour
All images © Verity Milligan
Freedom looms as lockdown eases, and gradually the world is returning to a more accommodating state. Soon there will be opportunities to travel and escape the confines of my currently suburban dwelling. I don’t often look forward to summer. I’m not a fan of heat, and I feel ambivalent towards the dull green foliage scorched by the unforgiving midsummer sun. I tend to hibernate and focus inward, but this year has a different emphasis. It is difficult to comprehend how challenging the last year has been. Although I appreciate there’s nothing heroic about staying home to save lives, it has emphasised how much being out in nature saves my life. After the quiet solitude of lockdown, there’s palpable excitement and anticipation of summer and its full spectrum of colour, from the dull, flat grey to the garishly bright. I’m excited for sudden torrenti downpours and the petrichor that follows. The sound of the wood pigeon cooing in the early morning, evoking my childhood. I’m enthusiastic about the colours. The fresh greens of late spring giving way to the vibrant yellows of rape seed stretching as far as the eye can see. The shades of agriculture undulating across acres of arable land.