I parked the car and had a look about. Everything was so peaceful. I'd been transported back in time as the hay was being gathered by hand.  For the first time in my life I heard the unmistakable call of a live cuckoo. When I was a child our home had a noisy German cuckoo clock—I knew it's call in an instant. Luckily the cuckoo seemed off to my side. Apparently bad luck follows if the first one heard in the season is behind the poor listener.