Richard Fonge writes:
We are experiencing a true blackthorn winter in the first part of April, with night frosts and a chill wind most of the time. The blackthorn blossom in our hedges lasts well into late April, soon to be followed by the whitethorn (May blossom). These two thorns were the predominant hedge plants to keep stock in their rightful fields in the past, before stock netting and barb wire were available to back fence the field as you see now in most pastures.
How good it is to see the fields once again stocked with cattle, and ewes and lambs after a winters break. Turning cattle out after a winter in sheds is always a welcome sight as they charge round, kicking their heels in the air before settling down to graze. To me it is the same as seeing the first swallow. Spring has arrived! As you go up the Moreton Rd have you ever wondered what the large red box in the field opposite the Bungalow is? It’s a lamb creep feeder. Lambs mostly live off their mothers milk, but by putting a high protein feed in this box that lambs can access but not the ewes, it helps their growth and takes the pressure off the reliance of milk.
All crops sown last autumn look healthy and have responded to their first application of nitrogen fertiliser and will have had a fungicide spray applied to protect the leaf from the many diseases that affect the leaf. The greener the leaf the better photosynthesis can take place to produce a bold healthy fruit of good quality at harvest time. The oilseed rape in particular has come through the winter well, mainly I suspect because of good germination creating a denser ground covering, making the crop less susceptible to pigeon damage.
Today to scare birds off crops gas bangers are used, not scarecrows as of old. The scarecrow was mainly used to frighten the rook and pigeon. By placing a scarecrow or two made up of old clothing over a frame, it was felt it would scare off the birds. In the case of the pigeon decoys can be placed for shooting purposes. Of the corvid family the rook can do good as well as harm. They are a tight knit family bird living in their rookerys. They need pasture to live off, and can do much good by eating the leatherjackets and wireworm that can attack the roots of new sown crops. The leatherjacket is the larva of the crane fly, more prevalent in wet times. The wireworm the larva of the click beetle, usually active in a crop following grass.
We miss I think the succinct and pithy retorts of old country folk: A woodsman was turned away from a tree planting job, but asked a year later to weed them, which he refused.
Reply to agent: “It’s like this when my missus gives me rhubarb I likes a bit of custard too”
Richard Fonge