Thursday 28 June 2018

Hot thursday


II think it was Vita Sackville West who said that she got such pleasure from those flowers who chose exactly where they wished to put their roots down rather than the ones which followed the gardener's rules.  I believe she was talking about violets which were flowers in the gaps in the paving on some steps in her garden.   This beauty has suddenly appeared in the gravel at the bottom of my drive.   Where she came from I don't know but I guess she was wind-blown and just landed here under the right conditions.   Whatever the reason, I welcome her with open arms - she can join the Hypericum which is seeding itself all up the drive side and which I shall happily leave.

As far as I am concerned the heat has now become far too much for me.   Today I went down to the hairdressers and since I came home I have made up one visitor's bed and intend to do the other one at some point during the afternoon.   I shall visit the doctor at four and then when the heat begins to die down I shall water my plants.   Any other activity is way beyond me I'm afraid.

The farmer would have been in his element.   This has really been a wonderful year for hay.   Although, having no horses, he didn't really need any hay, he did love to 'make a bit' and to the end he always saved a field for hay.   But nine times out of ten he would cut it and then, before it was ripe enough to bale, he would have to change his mind and turn it into silage.   How he would have loved his evenings baling hay this week and then stacking it in the barn.   He would then have sold it off over winter to horse owners and it would have been guaranteed 'good stuff'.   Sleep well my dear farmer.

19 comments:

Gwil W said...

tractors cutting the hay
under the stars
headlamps beaming

Heather said...

What beautiful free gifts you are finding in your garden. I sometimes found plants I didn't recognise and let them grow to see what they would become. Sometimes it would be a treasure or at worst an interesting wild plant.
I love the scent of hay drying in the sun and as children my cousins and I enjoyed 'helping' our grandmother turn and then gather her hay crop. She kept goats so used it for them. I have no doubt that other stronger and more reliable family members lent a hand too. Bitter sweet memories for you.

Sue in Suffolk said...

Haymaking was always a worrying time and I always got the shifting-bales-about job. Love the smell of bales in the shed but don't miss the scratchy hard work

Penhill said...

We heard the most weird sound yesterday evening coming from the field opposite where they had been haymaking during the day.Thanks to You Tube we identified it as the call of the Corncrake,I hope its nest hadn't been destroyed by the machinery.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I am absolutely in favour of letting nature take its course. We have manipulated and manicured far too much!

Derek Faulkner said...

Classic garden variety of opium poppy. One seed pod will have hundreds of seeds in it so best to remove it before ripe if you don't want hundreds of them next year.
After two years of hay being very scarce down here because of the long drought, it's great to see so many fields cutting hay, horse owners and their bank accounts will sleep easier this winter.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

Poppies are the perfect plants to arrive unannounced in the garden, they reseed themselves but are so easy to recognise and pull out if you need to get rid of them. Spells of dry weather like this are indeed rare at hay time.

Living Alone in Your 60's said...

My nephew was ping silage as he called it the whole time we were in Wales. Farmers have to work while the weather is good.

Librarian said...

What a lovely surprise to find on your drive!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts about how much The Farmer would have enjoyed haymaking just now. This made for a touching read.

Catriona said...

Lovely post today. What a beautiful memory to share.

justjill said...

Too hot for me too, I noticed a lot of hay in our fields, unusual as it is mainly Barley. Good weather for it at the moment I guess. I like that you have good memories.

angryparsnip said...

What a wonderful post today. Love the flower just popping up.
How the weather must bring such sweet and sad memories for you. I remember your stories of the farmer and the hay making
and how I learned the difference between Hay and Silage.

cheers, parsnip

angryparsnip said...

I love Gwil W haiku.

cheers, parsnip

The Weaver of Grass said...

Penhill. Was it round here you heard the Corncrake? Ifso then where please, so that I can drive round one evening and sit and listen in the hope of hearing it.
Derek - I shall leave the seed heads - if thousands spread around the Estate and some are left then we shall be a blaze of colour in a year or two.
Thanks everyone - and yes, I love Gwil's haiku too.

Bea said...

Beautiful flower. The heat is intermittent here, fortunately. -down the peninsula it is mostly unrelenting.

Oklahoma Girl said...

I have been following your blog for some time and really enjoy your posts. I grew up in Oklahoma in the US and grew up smelling hay being baled. Went on wheat harvest with my parents when I was very young. Love it and miss it.

This a loving post with many memories of your farmer. Thanks for sharing. I love the flower who appeared out of nowhere. I think there are reasons things like that happen. They stir up memories sometimes that we aren't even aware of.

Thank you for your beautiful blog. I look forward to reading your posts each day.

Cro Magnon said...

A very good year for hay here too, but much later than usual. A second crop is now questionable.

thelma said...

It is lovely and cool in the morning though Pat, the scent of good hay is a powerful aphrodisiac for the memory, and especially bringing back The Farmer who must have loved a good June.

liparifam said...

The heat and humidity are brutal here in Atlanta, GA - I can be out until 11 am, then need to be indoors until at least 5 pm...