May Day bunting – Dartmoor style! Ribbons of frayed black plastic caught in the Whitethorn. (Another name for Hawthorn) 1st May 2016.
Dartmoor was unseasonably dressed for the start of May; not a patch of blue – or a whiff of May-scented blossom anywhere – in fact it was the sort of day when a mayday call-out for ‘Search and Rescue’ would be likely – should one be foolhardy enough to wander out on to the open Moor; access to the Tors was impenetrable.
On the road through Princetown – I snapped a shot through the car window of the prison’s grim lamp-lit portal…
As I accelerated away – as free as a bird – I determined that despite the cold, wet and gloom – and distinct lack of visibility – I was going to seize the day with a visit to my familiar, sheltered haven…
At the doorway – I was greeted by the joyful sight and sound of a tail-less fledgling… 
– it was nervously perched in a neighbouring tree – squawking for mealtime to be served…
With my movements quizzically watched – I was thrilled to receive a May Day gift that fluttered down from their tree-top nest…
Nearby – the table was laid with Spring-lamb ‘chops’ – one each for Mum and Dad…
– and a separate ‘chop’ for the ‘little’ one…
It would have been a welcome sight to see a gambolling lamb, rather than a sacrificial one – but ravens eat only carrion – this was not their killing. (The penetrating fog even managed to mist-up my lens hence the blurry blobs!)
After a couple of hours ‘lost’ in ‘Raven Haven’ – I headed back to my car – passing through a grove of rather bare Hawthorn trees. Stopping for a celebratory group tree hug – I perceived something strung within the tangle of thorny branches. The ‘Queen of the May’ was wearing something after all. Neither a frock of new green leaves or a crown of creamy-white blossom – instead she wore a garland of glistening pearls…
Arriving back at my parked car – a Blackbird ‘Sings in the New’ – above charred blackened gorse. (Swaling is a Dartmoor tradition – it is the annual burning of gorse and moorland scrub – thinning out the old to regenerate the new.) May Day blessings.