June 22nd – Grange Farm at High Heath seems to operate a crop rotation system. Last year in this field near High Heath, there was a fine crop of oilseed rape. This year, it’s barley – and it seems to be ripening well.
It’s interesting to note just how uniform this crop is, and how dense the seed heads. Looks like it’s been a good season for it…
Christmas Eve – Down into Lichfield on a last minute errand, it was a gorgeous day – bright, clear and getting colder. It actually felt like Christmas. Lichfield wasn’t as busy as I expected, and I easily got the things done I needed to, although against a bitter wind the ride back was harder than it should have been. The lanes and fields around Wall looked wonderful, and the bright emerald green of winter crops in the fields was a nice surprise. From Aldershawe, the Old Lady of the Vale looked beautiful, too.
I was quite taken with the Dutch roadster parked up in town; it looked new, but the the owner was clearly intending to haul a load with it. A nice looking bike.
September 23rd – The overcast days seem to be well upon us now, and when I left work this evening, the light was grey, indistinct and the air quality once more very poor. I had to nip over to Stonnall to pick something up, so I ploughed on with grim determination.
Just off Lynn Lane, on my return, I noted that the last arable crop of the season was being harvested. Maize (a close relative of sweetcorn) which had grown tall and green in the end days of summer was now being shorn off at ground level by a special piece of machinery, which chops the whole plant – leaves, stalk, seed and cob – into chips for use as bulk in animal feed and the like.
I watched from afar with a heavy heart. The smell was remarkable, and with it, the summer passed the final baton to autumn. The closing-in is well underway today, coincidentally also that of the Autumnal Equinox.
August 26th – Even on a grim, grey day, Wall still has a fascination. Riding in via the track that constitutes Back Lane was a challenge, as it’s very overgrown, but such a delight. The fields here have been fully harvested, and look barren dressed in their underwear of stubble.
The village itself is fascinating. The half-cream, half-barebrik place with the odd gables? That was once a pub called the Seven Stars, and is now a lovely looking home.
Once, it stood on the main A5 between Brownhills and Tamworth, but the road was diverted on to a new dual carriageway half a mile to the south, and peace is restored.
A lovely little village.
August 7th – Closer to home, across the spread of Springhill and Sandhills, it’s harvest time. At Cartersfield Lane, wheat was ripe, and ready to be harvested, a process already underway at Home Farm, where the combine was sending up a terrifically dramatic cloud of cereal dust as it worked. Also growing on the lower fields of Sandhills, a healthy and verdant maize crop, now quite tall.
This does seem to have been a most favourable summer for the farmers, but I’m sure they’ll find something to complain about before long…
July 24th – Further on, at Sandhills, a fine crop of maize. Related to sweetcorn, it’s grown mainly for animal feed and seems a bit of a declining crop. That’s sad, really, as it’s fascinating. Already a couple of feet high, this may well grow to 4 feet or more tall, and is lush and green the whole time.
When harvested, a special machine is used that chobbles up the whole crop – seeds, stalks, leaves and cobs – into small pieces, so nothing is really wasted.
This is one of the latest summer crops, one of the last harvested, and will provide this vivid green right into September.
June 27th – A hard day and an awful journey home for the last commute of the week. The trains were a mess and I came back from Four Oaks against a grinding headwind with little left in my reserve tanks. I was knackered.
Re-armed with the camera, I spied this field of high-quality, nicely ripening barley at the foot of Castle Hill. It’s a lovely crop, with plump, large grain and will make fine malt.
I love the satin sheen of an undulating crop of barley, as it bobs in the wind. It’s one of the great seasonal sights of the English countryside.
June 14th – I took a spin over to Hopwas Hays Wood via Wall. It was a little too muddy, to be honest, and the skies threatened the whole time I was out. But it was a nice ride for all that.
Crossing Harehurst Hill from Claypit Lane on the bridleway to the old Watling Street, when I looked south, all I could see before me was a healthy, lush crop of beans. Northwards, a similarly decent crop of wheat.
Looks like a decent season for the farmers if the weather holds.
May 14th – Grove Hill, near Stonnall, remains a muse to local photographers and historians alike. The hill topped with a lone tree is well known as a landmark to people passing on the Chester Road.
Myth and legend has it that a noble man is buried here, hence the tree, although the reason for its placement is probably more esoteric. Like the groinal hedge to its side, the tree is probably preventing soil erosion.
This year, the hill appears to have a crop of fine-looking wheat growing lush and green all around.
It’s a lovely spot.
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.
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