the hawthorn tree in october

 

The hawthorn tree is laden with deep red haws, all glistening after an early morning shower of rain. The deep green leaves are just beginning to turn and are becoming mottled.

 

 

Walking across the field to the hawthorn tree, I saw my first (and probably last!) Painted Lady butterfly of the year. I also had lovely view of a Jay feeding on the ground near to the hawthorn tree.  

 

Joining in with Loose and Leafy's 'Tree Following Project'

the hawthorn tree - august

 

The haws are turning from green to red. I love how each berry is a slightly different shade.

  

  

The blackberries amongst the tree almost match the colour of the haws.

 

 

And under the tree, the rabbits have been busy...

As I walked across the field, Common Blue butterflies were everywhere - delightful!

Joining in with Loose and Leafy's 'Tree Following' project.

the field in july

 

The long grass is parched and as you walk through it seeds fall and fill your shoes. On the hillside, a clump of harebells were a delight to find as I don't remember seeing these here before. 

 

 

 

  

Fruits are ripening on the trees and bushes. Blackberries already! 

And joining the Meadow Browns in the field are one of my favourite butterflies, the Small Skipper. Little flashes of orange zipping about amongst the grasses.

The field in January : February : March : April : May : June

the hawthorn tree - july

 

 

 

 

The hawthorn tree is full of leaf and maturing haws. 

A potential rival tree has sprouted underneath... a forgotten acorn planted by a squirrel maybe?

 

 Marsh thistles growing up amongst the lower leaves of the hawthorn. And underneath in the long meadow grass are birds-foot trefoil and self-heal.

And meadow brown butterflies everywhere.

Joining in with Loose and Leafy's Tree Following project

The hawthorn tree in March : April : May : June

the field - april

 

Horse Chestnut

 Fresh greens, blue skies, wildflowers starting to bloom - I just love spring. The field is changing daily with new things to spot. Butterflies are about too - Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood. 

The first Bluebell

Bugle : Germander Speedwell : Common Dog Violet

Thyme-leaved Speedwell

And what is this tree I wonder, next to the Horse Chestnut? It seems like a Sycamore or a Sweet Chestnut but I'm not so sure. Any suggestions welcomed...

The Field in January : February : March

the field - march

 

In between the rain/hail showers, a walk around The Field to look for signs of spring... 

What was immediately apparent was the change in birdsong. Chiffchaffs having arrived home after their winter absence, joined the songs of robins, wrens, chaffinches, blue tits and plenty more.

 

 

The moles have been busy with lots of fresh molehills. We always make a bee line for molehills to see if they've dug up any interesting treasures! You can often find broken pottery and old clay pipes.

 

We went up to the top of The Field with the hope of finding blossom on the blackthorn trees, as I've seen some elsewhere. However these trees are obviously a little behind being in a less sheltered spot maybe.
Down through the wood and this mighty beech tree caught my eye. I love how others have obviously been drawn to this tree as well, and left their mark.

Bluebells are beginning to emerge through the leaf litter.
Leafbuds are bursting on the elder.

And the sticky horse chestnut buds are springing open with the freshest of green leaves.

 

Luckily I had the camera in hand when a pair of long-tailed tits arrived. What amazingly long whiskers they have!

New leaves are emerging on the brambles. The hawthorn leaves are still curled up tight in their buds, waiting awhile...

 

Celandines sprinkled the grassland all over the field. A couple of early butterflies were out too, a small tortoiseshell  and this comma above.

How wonderful to see all these signs of spring!

The Field : January : February

This year's allotment season

As I'm busily harvesting produce from the allotment, I've been reflecting on how this year's allotment season has been. It's has been a funny old year for growing. The season began well enough in March with shallot planting and the garlic, which had been in all winter, beginning to grow well...

But then the snow came... in April! Somehow the shallots survived the bitter cold and went on to grow well with a reasonable harvest. The garlic however was mediocre with generally small bulbs. That may have been down to the variety, as I'm constantly changing which I grow!

The cold spring meant that I was late sowing my seeds in the greenhouse. Tomatoes and cucumbers were sown very late but they started off well and I was optimistic they would catch up.

The boys (apart from 'the teen', who rarely comes to the allotment any more!) enjoy seed sowing time and love trying to grow some crops of their own, particuarly son #2 who likes to grow extra long runner beans, round courgettes and red carrots - anything a bit different! A frequent past time in the allotment is to make soup and various other concoctions from leaves, flowers and mud...

Over the years I have refined the amount of different things I grow and now concentrate on tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse; courgettes, parsnip, garlic, and runner beans, with a few other little things if there's time and space, such as peas, leeks, carrots and lettuce.
I grow more and more beans each year and this year, as well as runner beans, I have grown borlotti and purple climbing French beans. They have been a fantastic success this year and have the most beautiful purple flowers.

After the tomatoes and cucumbers germinated they promptly stopped growing, it was most bizarre. They ended up on the compost heap as no matter how much I fed and watered them they just refused to grow. So the green house this year has been a complete fail.
However, the courgettes have been producing really well, enough to make courgette chutney and to be in almost every meal for the past two months!

 

The fruit trees are heavy with fruit, which is a stark contrast to last year, when we only had 2 apples! The small plum tree has been incredible with branches snapping under the weight of all of it's fruit. It's such a delight to feast on plums freshly picked from the tree and the cupboards have been well stocked with plum jam.

 

 

There are a lot of 'wild' areas in the allotment (i.e. where I just don't have the time to do anything about!) and these are great for birds, butterflies and bees. I really enjoy spotting these as I'm working. This summer has been fantastic for butterflies and the allotment has attracted Holly Blue, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, the three Whites and much to my delight a Small Copper.

Looking back it has been a season of extremes... bitterly cold, baking hot... plants not growing at all, others producing a bountiful harvest. 

It is hard to make time for the allotment, but it is worth it when I do. Having at least something home grown each day, even if it's just a clove of garlic, or a spoonful of chutney is rather satisfying!

Once I plant next years garlic, in a few weeks time and have a bit of a tidy up, my allotment season will be over. The Allotment gets no direct sunlight during the winter months, so I don't grow any winter crops. But the break is very welcome, with just the occasional trip to the compost heap!