Tuesday 29 April 2014

An 'Almost Summer' Day.

Warm, sunny, still - almost Summer here today.   Tess and I had a wander round the fields after lunch.  (this morning is usually a trip into town with friend W for our pensions and coffee).  Everything is burgeoning.   The farmer is out 'dolling' (to use his dialect word) thistles and nettles in our newly-bought field.  He always leaves a few patches in scrubby land for the butterflies, but this field is to be a pasture for milk cows and they need nice, luscious grass.

My hens were taking full advantage of the lovely day, scrabbling about and having a dust bath in a dry patch.   We walked down the big pasture (see how green it is and how quickly it is growing).   In the distance the silage field is golden with dandelions and the hedge in between is covered in blackthorn blossom.   Maybe, if the frosts hold off, we shall have a good crop of sloes this year.

In the grass I find the first few flowers of stitchwort; soon the fields will be full of it.  And soon I come across the first of the giant thistles which litter this new field.   Patches of daisies and patches of grape hyacinth spring up in the middle of nowhere and - planted in our garden - a magnificent patch of red tulips, which give us pleasure every year.   We never lift them, they just seem to like their place and multiply every year.

A friend has suggested why we might be getting nightly visits from those tawny owls.   We feed the birds close to where they are and she thinks mice might come out at night after the remaining seed on the ground.   She may well be right as mice are their staple food.







14 comments:

Heather said...

Beautiful sunny images. I love to see hens scratching about in the soil. They always look so busy. I have a some tulips that flower for me each year. Goodness knows how long it is since I planted them. I call them my old faithfuls.

Arija said...

It certainly looks like the merry month of May at your place. Lovely tulips indeed.

Em Parkinson said...

The Stitchwort here is fully out down from the moor but the tiny alpine-ish version we get in the moorland grass is nowhere to be seen yet!

angryparsnip said...

I so envy your beautiful flowers that just seem to pop -up around your land.
So Lovely.

cheers, parsnip

Maureen @ Josephina Ballerina said...

Husband planted 50 tulip bulbs the other fall. Squirrels dug 48 of them up and "replanted" them on the 18th fairway of the golf course next to our house.

Dartford Warbler said...

You are providing a living larder for the owls - they must be very happy about that!

It is lovely to see the wild flowers again.

Your tulips are such a vivid red - so cheerful!

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

Wonderful summery images. I love these early days of warm weather. Our spring here will last for a month or two - lovely lazy days of warm sunshine and soft breezes. Today I glued up some wobbly chairs - tomorrow I think I'll paint a daisy on the top of one of my round bar stools and a sunflower on the top of another. Those will make the breakfast bar look springy too.

Cro Magnon said...

Don't they say that if you want to know if land is good, look out for thistles that you could tie-up a horse to. (excuse my grammar)

Anonymous said...

Wonderful images! Nice to see the hen taking bath in mud!

Crafty Green Poet said...

lovely photos, we had a wonderful sunny day yesterday too, but today is all mist and drizzle, though the birds are still singing loudly!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for visiting.

Interesting Cro - when I told the farmer about your thistle comment he said it was a saying here too.

thelma said...

Is it not a marvellous time of the year when we can find everything coming out day by day, our stitchwort has been out for ages....

Golden West said...

So spring has arrived in all her glory, at long last. All that rain has paid off handsomely, with such abundant and beautiful blossoms!

Golden West said...

So spring has arrived in all her glory, at long last. All that rain has paid off handsomely, with such abundant and beautiful blossoms!