March 30th – The day was a little more summery than that previously and on my way home I nipped up the canal to see if the field of oilseed rape was out yet at Home Farm.
It’s getting there, it’s getting there. About another week to ten days, depending on how warm and sunny it is.
I love the smell, the colour and the spectacle of the sun-loving brassica. A real sign summer is coming!
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July 27th – A journey to Burntwood on the way home, and I noticed that the hills of Hammerwich were now stubble too. This view is changeless yet ever-changing, and it fascinates me.
A real slice of home.
May 4th – Summer seems finally to be on it’s way in. A warm, sunny day during which I had to visit telford, where the tulips in the station flowerbed are divine. On the way back from Lichfield, the daffodils were still strong in the hedgerows, and the oilseed rape was burning yellow in the fields.
Sunshine, it’s so good to have you back… please stay awhile.
April 3rd – Up near Wall, the old cricket pitch was ploughed up a few years ago now by the farmer who owned it, leaving the portakabin pavilion – which must have cost a few bob to install – marooned.
It’s so sad to see the cricket pitch gone; many a Sunday or Saturday afternoon as a young man I’d pass here with a game in full swing and sit and watch with maybe a beer on the go.
Remarkably, the in and out field are now supporting a healthy, blooming crop of oilseed rape, which seems a wee bit early for me – but it is beautiful.
Three years ago this weekend I found a car still abandoned in deep snow not half a mile from here. How the seasons in this country vary.
April 6th – Still not feeling too great, and with similarly dismal weather, I took a spin out around Brownhills late afternoon. I noted that despite the grey and blustery weather it was quite warm, and the oilseed rape was coming on in leaps and bounds. At Sandhills looking towards Springhill, the crop was nearly in flower, and the fields towards Hammerwich weren’t too far behind.
They’re going to be gorgeous this year when the sun shines.
This must be the signal that winter was over. I told you that buying new snow tyres would stall a bad winter – and so they did.
April 30th – I was going to break up today’s images into groups, and then I thought better of it. Today’s theme was clearly late spring, early summer, and an utter contrast to the previous day. I left mid-morning for a short meeting in Telford with the sun on my back and wind in my face. The damp landscape hummed with life of all kinds. The rustling of new foliage, the splash of water draining away in roadside ditches, the song of finches and blackbirds, busy in the hedgerows. At Stafford Park in Telford, a line of cherry tress had me stunned, and closer to home at Little Aston and Stonnall, wildflowers brightened the verges, field margins and spinneys. The lanes were crisp and bright, the scent of oilseed rape had risen and everything smelt delightful.
Are days like this better for the preceding bad ones, or do they always seem this good?
I’d appreciate ID help with the flowers, please, if anyone knows.
April 5th – There seems to be an awful lot of early-flowering oilseedrape about at the moment. The normal varieties seen in the fields around Shenstone, Stonnall and the outskirts of Brownhills flower around mid-May, but I’ve noticed in the last twelve months late and early strains, like this field near Footherly. It’s a gorgeous plant, I love the colour, the scent and the the bug life it attracts. This oil-rich brassica (that’s right: it’s a member of the cabbage family) must earn a lot for farmers, and seems to be quick and easy to grow. It often receives a bad press, with people blaming the plant for hayfever outbreaks, yet it’s pollen – evolved for insect and contact rather than wind pollination – is far too heavy and sticky to be wind borne.
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