Wednesday 15 June 2011

Cobbles, grass and sitting hens.





Much of the market square in our little town is laid down to cobbles. It was all renewed a few years ago at considerable cost. There was controversy about it, of course, particularly from those who wore high heeled shoes (I am long past those days if I ever was in them). I tend toward thinking the cobbles are rather nice - and rather old fashioned, in keeping with the place. Yesterday, as I walked through the square I saw that some of the cobbles were being repaired and I couldn't resist taking this photograph - is he really going to reset them all by hand? If so it is going to take him a jolly long time - but it is rather a nice job don't you think?

Now to the grass of my title. We walk through it, we lie in it, we mow it almost to extinction on our lawns, it gives some of us hay fever, and without it we would be unable to keep our sheep and dairy herds - and a lot of nibbling mammals (rabbits for a start) would be non-existent. But do we ever really stop and look at it?

This afternoon on our walk I took a small pair of scissors and snipped a few heads off where the grass has gone to seed. Any day now the farmer will mow the sides of the lane so that we have a better view when we drive out of the farm gate. When we got home I laid the seed heads of a sheet of white paper and photographed them for you to look at. You have to admit - they are rather pretty aren't they? There used to be quaking grass but sadly I couldn't find a single stalk of it this year. Does anyone have any round where they live? I would love to see a photograph of some. When we were children there seemed to be a lot about and we always called it Tottering Johnnies.

Now to the sitting hen. Goldie is sitting tight. If the eggs are indeed fertile (and we shall not know until they hatch - or not) then they are due to hatch out on Saturday, so it is fingers crossed. She should be feeling movement in the eggs by now if there are chicks inside. Chick crumbs are at the ready and she certainly looked at me with her beady eye when I took this photo for you earlier today. News of the birth will be announced the moment it takes place!

Incidentally - thanks to John (Going Gently) who writes the most super blog about country and village life, for posting a special view of his little smallholding just for me yesterday. I did appreciate it - so thanks John. If you don't know the blog do pop over and have a read.

##I do know that the grass on the left is not a grass at all but is what the farmer calls sour dock (I think it is really a kind of sorrel) - but it grows everywhere amongst our grass and gives the whole field a lovely red tinge - so I included it anyway.

19 comments:

Heather said...

Your grasses and sorrel remind me of happy childhood days in Bucks. We children would collect as many different grasses as we could find in Granny's paddock. I even love sorrel when it takes that very rusty colour in autumn. Goldie looks very snug in her quarters and I eagerly await news of her babies. Like you, I think cobbles are attractive - hope the man doing the repairs had a cushion to sit on!

Dartford Warbler said...

A field of mixed grasses in flower is a beautiful sight. I particularly like the softness of purple fescue as it is seeding.

If your hay meadows have as good a mixture as your hedgerows, then the stock will be well fed next winter.
I`m hoping that the rain we are having in the South this week will get the hay meadows growing again.

Elizabeth said...

Loved your grasses!
A category at the Flower Show in Ingrave Essex circa 1956
"8 grasses in a jam jar"
this brought it all back.
My favorite is the feathery one!

angryparsnip said...

I love seeing the grasses... and so happy you posted a photo of Goldie.
She looks settled in ready to hatch those chicks !

cheers, parsnip

angryparsnip said...

forgot to say
even if it can be somewhat hard to walk on, I am so glad your town kept the cobbles. Asphalt is everywhere.

cheers, parsnip

ChrisJ said...

Fingers crossed for Goldie! I do love grasses. I have seen quaking grass and it is lovely. So delicate. But I think I saw it in Derbyshire, many years ago, not my usual haunts of Flamborough. I certainly recognize the sorrel -- sour because if you chew the leaves they taste sour. Certainly we weren't thinking of dogs and cows, when we did that as children!

H said...

I used to see a lot of quaking grass around, but don't remember spottig any for a while. I need to scour all of the corners of my garden to see if there is any hiding anywhere.

Jenn Jilks said...

What a lovely post!
Spring is so busy on the farm!

We're having a blast, too.
Cheers from S.E. Ontario Cottage Country!

steven said...

ahh weaver i love grass although i do have some allergic reaction to it. i especially love wild grasses. very very much. i'm so excited about the chicken births. steven

Hildred said...

If perseverance and concentration count for anything Goldie is a sure winner!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for your comments. I will update on Goldie as soon as there is any news - good or bad.
We had an absolute torrential downpour yesterday afternoon, so do hope it hasn't washed out the concrete between the newly set cobbles. It would do the cut fields a huge amount of good though as they had just had the fertiliser spread. As I write, the farmer's clothes are going round in my washing machine as they all got completely wet through.

Dave King said...

Some time ago they refurbished a shopping yard locally and repaved it with cobbles. It won various architectural awards etc, but the cobbles were and are controversial, being very unfriendly to childrens' buggies, wheel chairs and mobility scooters.

Michala Gyetvai (Kayla coo) said...

Grass fascinates me, the different colours greens,blues,pinks, yellows,purples many different colours and textures.
My exhibition is called "Seas of Grass"
It also reminds me of my childhood, making dens in the grass!
Thank you for sharing your collection.

Acornmoon said...

Cobbles are so much nicer than horrid tarmac, let them wear wellies I say.

Share my Garden said...

Your grass photos remind me of a summer project given to me from school when I was very small. I collected grasses with the help of my father. He showed me how to press and display them. We were busy all the summer holiday and he bought me an Observer book of grasses so that I could name my collection. I have never forgotten the pleasure of that summer.

Lyn said...

So beautiful and refreshing to tag along with you..and that fellow looks as if he might be at it all day..yes, what's the rush?

Cloudia said...

Summer Grass Life - yes!



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Crafty Green Poet said...

Lovely photos of grasses and sorrel. Yes it's always worth looking closely at them!

I like cobbles if they're not in silly places (one of Edinburgh's hospitals has cobbles at the front entrance, which is just silly!)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Interesting that so many of you are reminded of your childhood by those grasses. I wonder if parents still do such things with their children or if computers have taken over - and if so, does it matter? Will today's children have such lovely memories I wonder.