It has been the wettest April on record, the wettest June on record and July has carried on in much the same vein. Apparently, it's all down to global warming and is due to melting of Arctic ice and El Nino which are forcing the Jetstream (high-altitude winds) further south, causing it to suck in wet weather systems off the Atlantic.
It's only a few years ago that the BBC was saying that climate change would result in warm, wet winters and hot dry summers and we were being told that we'd have to use drought-resistant plants in the garden. It was the end of the traditional English cottage garden and garden centres were offering more drought-tolerant plants. Well, heaven help anyone who planted up for a Mediterranean summer!
I've been on holiday this week and have been planning my days around the weather. Yesterday was a rare warm and sunny day, so I took advantage to catch up on some jobs in the garden and also to take the dogs on a decent walk. We set off across the fen towards Old Knarr Fen Road at about 10am and it was a lovely sunny morning. Many of the field roads are high with grasses and wild flowers and there were lots of butterflies and insects feeding on the flowers. Holly and Gravel's noses were working overtime and once off the lead they were gone! There's a large field of wheat between the cemetery and the fen, which is just starting to turn light green to yellow.
Along the hedge, a startled pheasant was put up and the pair of them went tearing after it. There was no sign of either dog when I got through the hedge and into the fen, but I saw Gravel away to the north and Holly was running through the field of ripening barley. I couldn't see her, but I could see the crop moving as she brushed the straws aside. She emerged around 100 yards down and ran back towards me. The barley field is massive and seems to stretch to the horizon. I guess it will be turned into beer, whisky or animal feed.
Just off the path, at the other side of the barley field pictured, there's another massive field of barley and there was a chap with a pigeon lure. The lure is a device with two narrow arms which swing round and round on a central pivot. At the end of each arm is tied a dead pigeon and the lure has some kind of contraption that makes the dead birds' wings flap. At this time of year, parts of the crop can be flattened by winds or rain and pigeons like to land in these areas to feed on the flattened crop. Because farmers can combine flattened wheat or barley, they don't want the pigeons eating it, so will often allow/encourage people to shoot them. The idea is that the lure attracts the attention of pigeons flying overhead who will come down to check what's happening (and get shot).
I gave the chap a wave and he waved back (it's always nice to know that someone with a gun knows you're there). We hadn't seen many pigeons, so I don't know how much luck he'd had, but there were worse days to be sitting in a field doing nothing.
I always like to keep an eye on the dogs. They always disappear, but at least I know which general direction they were heading in ... Holly was very good and never went very far, but this year on our fen walks, she's got much braver and now loves to follow scents and chase wildlife. Her nose isn't as good as Gravel's, but what she lacks in sniff power, she makes up for in the ground she covers. She put up a few hares. There seems to be a large number about this year and they will stay low and still until the last minute when they dash away. Often the dog will charge past and not even see them. They like to get on some open. level ground for maximum speed and a few times this year, the dogs have put up hares in front of me which have then run off down the farm track in my direction. If you stand to one side and keep very still, they will run right past you. A Springer Spaniel hasn't got a hope of catching a fit hare, but that doesn't stop them trying. It's quite funny seeing Holly chase them. She's faster than Gravel and really thinks she has a chance, but the hare is almost twice as fast. It's like Usain Bolt running in an English club meeting.
Since late spring, I've been avoiding parts of the walk or keeping the dogs on lead because there have been lapwings nesting on a couple of the fallow fields alongside the path. We saw the adult birds flying around at nesting time in late winter and counted up to a dozen of them. They are a very distinctive bird with wailing cry and black, paddle-shaped wings. In late winter, they were performing amazing aerobatics (presumably to impress the ladies) and there were a number nesting in a fallow field to the south of Park Farm and further out into the fen.
The young have fledged by July, so I felt happy to let the dogs run. The birds seem to have had a very successful breeding season. They are still about feeding and chilling while the young birds get stronger. Holly ran across their field and put up a massive flock which I estimated at around 70 birds. I didn't count more than 20 birds initially, so that's a good year for them. They make a lot of noise as they all take to the air, but don't seem too put out by the dogs charging across their field. They do a couple of circuits and then land again. I'm pleased to see them even if it has been a nuisance having to keep the dogs leashed.
It's only a few years ago that the BBC was saying that climate change would result in warm, wet winters and hot dry summers and we were being told that we'd have to use drought-resistant plants in the garden. It was the end of the traditional English cottage garden and garden centres were offering more drought-tolerant plants. Well, heaven help anyone who planted up for a Mediterranean summer!
I've been on holiday this week and have been planning my days around the weather. Yesterday was a rare warm and sunny day, so I took advantage to catch up on some jobs in the garden and also to take the dogs on a decent walk. We set off across the fen towards Old Knarr Fen Road at about 10am and it was a lovely sunny morning. Many of the field roads are high with grasses and wild flowers and there were lots of butterflies and insects feeding on the flowers. Holly and Gravel's noses were working overtime and once off the lead they were gone! There's a large field of wheat between the cemetery and the fen, which is just starting to turn light green to yellow.
 |
| Ripening barley to the south east of Thorney - it's a massive field and a magnet for the dogs. |
 |
| Holly emerges from the barley field and runs back towards me. I think she wonders why I'm so slow! |
Just off the path, at the other side of the barley field pictured, there's another massive field of barley and there was a chap with a pigeon lure. The lure is a device with two narrow arms which swing round and round on a central pivot. At the end of each arm is tied a dead pigeon and the lure has some kind of contraption that makes the dead birds' wings flap. At this time of year, parts of the crop can be flattened by winds or rain and pigeons like to land in these areas to feed on the flattened crop. Because farmers can combine flattened wheat or barley, they don't want the pigeons eating it, so will often allow/encourage people to shoot them. The idea is that the lure attracts the attention of pigeons flying overhead who will come down to check what's happening (and get shot).
I gave the chap a wave and he waved back (it's always nice to know that someone with a gun knows you're there). We hadn't seen many pigeons, so I don't know how much luck he'd had, but there were worse days to be sitting in a field doing nothing.
I always like to keep an eye on the dogs. They always disappear, but at least I know which general direction they were heading in ... Holly was very good and never went very far, but this year on our fen walks, she's got much braver and now loves to follow scents and chase wildlife. Her nose isn't as good as Gravel's, but what she lacks in sniff power, she makes up for in the ground she covers. She put up a few hares. There seems to be a large number about this year and they will stay low and still until the last minute when they dash away. Often the dog will charge past and not even see them. They like to get on some open. level ground for maximum speed and a few times this year, the dogs have put up hares in front of me which have then run off down the farm track in my direction. If you stand to one side and keep very still, they will run right past you. A Springer Spaniel hasn't got a hope of catching a fit hare, but that doesn't stop them trying. It's quite funny seeing Holly chase them. She's faster than Gravel and really thinks she has a chance, but the hare is almost twice as fast. It's like Usain Bolt running in an English club meeting.
Since late spring, I've been avoiding parts of the walk or keeping the dogs on lead because there have been lapwings nesting on a couple of the fallow fields alongside the path. We saw the adult birds flying around at nesting time in late winter and counted up to a dozen of them. They are a very distinctive bird with wailing cry and black, paddle-shaped wings. In late winter, they were performing amazing aerobatics (presumably to impress the ladies) and there were a number nesting in a fallow field to the south of Park Farm and further out into the fen.
The young have fledged by July, so I felt happy to let the dogs run. The birds seem to have had a very successful breeding season. They are still about feeding and chilling while the young birds get stronger. Holly ran across their field and put up a massive flock which I estimated at around 70 birds. I didn't count more than 20 birds initially, so that's a good year for them. They make a lot of noise as they all take to the air, but don't seem too put out by the dogs charging across their field. They do a couple of circuits and then land again. I'm pleased to see them even if it has been a nuisance having to keep the dogs leashed.
No comments:
Post a Comment