Orchard Hedge Laying. Revisited

You may remember back in March I was doing some hedge laying.  Back then it looked as though we had killed the hedge, although we knew we had not as this is something that has been done for centuries in the English landscape. As I said back then the hedge would soon start shooting and shoot it did and is now a full hedge.

Here are some photographs showing a comparison of then and now:

Elderflower Champagne

The elderflowers are here but going soon so don't miss this opportunity to make a this refreshing and fun summer drink.

Elder flowers in Wilsons' Orchard

A Midsummer Evening

The evening sun shining through the clouds over Warwickshire and Leicestershire viewed from Honey Hill in Northamptonshire.

Evening of June 21st 2012

Meadow mowing and path clearing

One part of managing a meadow is mowing; this is back breaking and hot work but must be done to allow the shorter stemmed flowers to see the sun and provide valuable food for our honey making ladies, the bees.

At one end of the meadow is a people area with comfrey and other flowering plants the bees like and nettles that the tortoise shell butterfly caterpillars like to eat (and so do we in soups!). These plants can be a problem to humans but instead of removing them they are just cut back from the paths, as with many jobs the traditional tools are the best so for this task we use hooks and sickles.

Traditional sickles.

Snakes in the grass

The grass snake is not an overly uncommon reptile in England but to stand next to one sunbathing is not an everyday occurrence.  Here is one I spotted on my wanderings taking in the sun and digesting its lunch.

Grass Snake (Natrix natrix)

An English folk song for Midsummer.

This song is called Pleasant and Delightful, it is a combination of traditional rural folk song and sea shanty.  It starts with a rural summer scene then moving to a love story about a sailor and his sweetheart.

2012 Season Opens

The course fishing season opened in England on the 16th June, this means an early rise for the keen angler so he can be on the bank at sun rise. Such activity has its benefits; peace away from other people, the cool damp air of the midsummer making thin mists on the water, the multitude of bird song including the various nocturnal species busying themselves before sleep.

The early morning light over the swollen brook.