A dry April with some warm days gave way to a very chilly May, which really set back grass and flower growth in the field. However after some good steady rains in May and the new-found warmth of early June, the field has quickly stirred into life in the last fortnight or so.
The Bulbous and Field Buttercups are now in full swing, along with Sweet Vernal Grass, Meadow Foxtail, and, in lovely patches, swathes of Cuckoo Flower (fading now), the food plant for the Orange Tip butterfly. Greater Stitchwort, Meadowsweet, Tufted Vetch and Crosswort are beginning to push into the non grazed parts of the field from surrounding grass verges and hedgerows. And we even found two small patches of Bluebells flowering in the main field. That's a first!
Woodland progress
The two year old tree whips in the top wood have had a great start this year with the rains, and even those that were struggling a bit this time last year in the Spring droughts of 2020, seem to be coming back strongly. Having spent a good deal of time mulching many more of the 900 trees this winter with cardboard or jute sacks and wood chippings, we have left some unmulched and will be hand weeding these to ensure the grasses do not overwhelm them this summer. I am still a bit concerned we may get vole damage (they like to hide under the mulch mats and chew on roots - I heard recently they prefer Oak trees for this), but so far no evidence of this, thankfully.
We are keeping tracks mown between the trees for access and ambulation (and collecting arisings for using as tree mulch), although having recently been on a scything workshop that is another possibility in future for the harder-to-reach areas.
Main meadow
In the main meadow, the Yellow Rattle sown last Autumn has germinated strongly. By chilly, late February the little papery seeds were already striking tiny white roots down into the soil. Because of this and the fact the grass growth was much delayed due to the cold weather, we decided not to have sheep on the field for the 'Spring bite' this year (basically because there wasn't any). They will come on again in September after it has been mowed to eat the lush aftermath and keep the grass down until around December.
It is fascinating, now we have fenced off areas, to see how the grass growth and general vegetation is changing under different management even over just a couple of years. In the wood at the top and side, sheep have been out since March 2020. The grass between the trees grew long last year and died off so is now looking dry and tussocky already. I feel a little sad to lose it. It is now very attractive cover to voles which is presumably why we had a Kestrel hunting over the area the first part of the year.
For the past two summers, when haymaking, we have left a margin uncut near the hedge and I noticed today that anthills are already beginning to appear in this longer grass with their fine sandy soil heaps (did you know anthills feel warm to the touch when they are active?). (For anyone fascinated by Yellow Meadow Ants, this may be of interest on 23/6: "Seething soils: Why the yellow meadow ant is the most important invertebrate in many grasslands" - https://www.field-studies-council.org/shop/courses/seething-soils-nhl/)
The buttercups definitely prefer to grow where the grass is mown or grazed - and the main field is now painted a lovely shade of rich Buttercup yellow! Fine Sweet Vernal Grass has taken over from the Field Wood Rush now to provide the rusty, smoky colours and other grasses have been coming through in the last day or two, including Crested Dogs Tail, Yorkshire Fog and other species I have yet to ID!
Other flowers appearing in the meadow include Germander Speedwell in miniature sky blue pools and carpets of (yellow) Black Medick. Sheeps Sorrel, Ladys Bedstraw and Birds Foot Trefoil have had a slow start but are now getting into gear and I was delighted to find some small patches of very low flowering Tormentil - I would so love this little flower to expand a bit more. The Tormentil I saw at Gilfach Nature Reserve last year threaded over the meadow there like a yellow necklace and was so enchanting. I'm also really pleased to see more Pignut in the meadow this year which seems to be expanding and the Red Clover too. Cut leaved Cranesbill has appeared at the top of the field in the damp meadow.
(Pictures: A cohort of Yellow Rattle, Pignut, Bird's-Foot Trefoil in bud & Cuckoo Flower)
I found a good patch of Bird's-Foot (not Birds Foot Trefoil but a pixed-sized relative in the pea family) on some of the anthills this week, a really tiny but lovely annual plant (flowers just a few mm in size) which favours sandy soils and a sunny aspect.
The wildflower seeds I collected and sowed in the bottom part of the field last year are not very evident yet, despite our careful scarifying and preparation last year! I hope that some of them may come up this year or next. I have a feeling the rabbits may have put paid to some of the seedlings alas. Likewise we cannot yet see any evidence of new plants from the green hay we scattered in the lower meadow but we will wait and see.
Growing the hedgerows
The mainly Hawthorn hedge along the roadside has not been cut for 2 years now and is beginning to fill out and gain a sweeping 'skirt'. Because it was not cut last year, it has also now come into full and fragrant blossom. We hope to be able to leave it another year or two before having it trimmed, ideally in January or February so as to leave fruits and nuts for the birds. Ultimately we may leave it to grow for a few years and then have it laid, perhaps in sections due to its long length.
The hedge we laid last November is sprouting happily into leaf and yet more blossom and the coppiced Hazel has finally given forth small buds and leaves from its big, hard, and unpromisingly knuckly base. The hedgebank there was covered with Ground Ivy in May, one of my favourite flowers with Red Campion (and Nettles!) now taking over.
Wetland update
The wetland vegetation at the bottom of the field is amazingly luxuriant now with floating rafts of flowering Watercress, Starwort and Crowfoot. In fact one big, thick block of Watercress even seems to be slowing the flow of the main channel. The Willow Herbs (not Rosebay) have moved in fast and I've spotted patches of Creeping Forget me Not and Marsh Bedstraw. Lesser Spearwort is popping up all over now, since it loves the damp and is flowering brightly. And of course the Cuckoo Flower has been happily growing in and around the rushes (and in the main meadow). Sadly, I have not yet seen evidence of the Ragged Robin stirring (planted last year) or the Meadow sweet seeds I sowed. Perhaps they will appear later, or next year?
Tadpoles and even tiny froglets have been doing well in the wetland pools and at the weekend I sat on a log in the heat of the early afternoon and watched around a dozen blue damselflies, some paired up and laying eggs - some small reds too and one or two of the ultra beautiful dark-winged Demoiselles (which seem to prefer running water to still). There are one or two new (to me) insects in this pond - what I think are Horsehair Worms which writhe in sinuous 'S' shapes at the bottom of the pool. These parasitize on grasshoppers apparently and have an interesting, if gruesome, lifecycle. I've also seen what I think might be a Water Stick Insect nymph(?), along with the usual diving beetles, pond skaters and back swimmers. The main pond that we enlarged this spring will need a winter (I think) to start to naturalise more fully since it is still looking very new and bare of vegetation.
A pair of Mandarin Ducks has discovered the various new ponds and scrapes and seem to come and paddle about at dusk and Herons are now regular visitors too. Our new trail camera has so far captured a fox slinking around the top pond and daily visits from a lone jackdaw.
The barn repair starts!
A local builder has now started on the repair of our field barn. He will be rebuilding the fallen down wall to start with and repointing the whole with lime mortar (lime is prepared and bought locally). We have found some building stone in a local quarry and are looking out for local supplies of used corrugated iron sheets for the external cladding. We are told that timber has gone up in price of late which will affect budgets. I will update on this project in the next blog post.
Finally, we are so lucky the field is right next to our house since I can dash out with my camera whenever the light turns interesting. On Sunday evening after a thundery downpour that quivered the dogs, the sun came out and projected a bright rainbow over the Redlake for well over half an hour. Walking out into the field, towards the light, was like walking into a diamante landscape that sparkled and glittered. We don't (yet!) have anything that is rare in our field, like Orchids or Great Crested Newts, but for me the ordinary is so easily made extraordinary in moments like this. I hope the images below reflect something of what I saw (I did get very wet knees in the process).
Thank you for reading this instalment. Please feel free to make a comment below. Due to the software this blog uses I am unable to reply to any comments, so do email me if you need a reply!