Cyn's Nature Notes: A10 to Royston then A1198 to Papworth

Wednesday 27 April 2011

A10 to Royston then A1198 to Papworth

An enjoyable spring journey, everywhere is so freshly green and the cloudless sky so blue. The temperature is a mild 14 degrees.

We pass many fields of bright yellow rape, may blossom decks the hawthorns and the roadside edges are delicately pretty with long stretches of tall cow parsley. Oak trees are lightly sketched over in a fresh green haze. In fact, the green is breathtaking, every branch on each bush and tree is weighed down with fresh spring leaves in all shades of green, plus a few yellow or brownish/red shades. Lilacs spread out above fences and clematis montana flows across and down.

Just before Royston we saw a red kite, and the roundabouts in Royston were beautifully bedecked in pansies and wallflowers. Bright yellow laburnums and both red and white horse chestnuts were in full bloom, brightening this part of our journey.

The A1198 is part of the Ermine Way, alongside it on the right,we pass chalk white freshly ploughed fields while on the left the fields are full of sheep sharing their home with crowds of crows. Alongside the road on either side of the path the cow parsley stands tall, bordering the hedges and in some places they are the same height, further on the hedges turn into trees and the cow parsley now has no chance of competing!

Passing a service station I notice unleaded petrol is now £140.9 per litre, this is the highest I've seen it.

In the middle of the lawn in a front garden is an ancient tamerisk, many years old, prettily pink and grown from a shrub into a tree --- it looks wonderful.

Bullrushes are growing thickly in a nearby ditch, but my mind is taken off them by a pack of hunting dogs, forty or fifty strong. A nearby sign points to Huntingdon and I am told that don means town, and linked with hunting must mean hunting town. This seemed very apt linked with seeing the pack of hunting hounds.

Leaving Papworth and heading home on the A1198, the grass on the verge is hardly visible because of the density of dandelion clocks --- round balls of fluffy, floaty seeds, ready and waiting to be wind whipped to a new location.
Further on we pass great patches of red clover, white daisies and blue birds eye (speedwell), how patriotic I thought with the royal wedding in just two days time. The timing of it makes me smile. I also smile with delight when we passed a large area of cowslips.

We decided on a slight detour and visited the National Trust, Wimpole Hall Estate, we enjoyed tea in the restaurant, before wandering around and seeing some of the rest of this beautiful place.

Looking at all the bright yellow oil seed rape fields, I sometimes think they are eye catchingly beautiful, but then I look at the many natural greens of our English countryside and realise how fields of oil seed rape can stand out like a sore thumb.

Bypassing Buntingford I noticed on the verge a large gathering of tall white field daisies, the first I have seen this year.

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About this Blog

When we moved to our present home in December 1987, I was very ill and bedridden. My garden was a life-saver, although it was very different then. The first thing I did was to put up bird-feeders, and long hours were spent lying indoors in a recliner. This was when I discovered many things. Do you know the underside of every blue tit’s tail is differently marked? Gradually, over the years, the garden changed. We put in shrubs and plants that would not only enhance the garden, but would also be good for wildlife. The first rabbit we saw was so joyful for us. The deer eat the flowers, prune the apple trees, eat the marrow, and are wonderful to watch. Foxes have been a major part of our wildlife. We have fed them each night for more than 20 years. They are such a delight, especially in late summer and early autumn when there are youngsters. They behave like puppies and are great fun to watch.

I love all wildlife: the mason bees that nest in the brickwork of the bungalow, the hornets that last year made their home in the roof above our bedroom, the bees currently nesting in the roof above the bathroom. On a hot evening, if you stand quietly in the bathroom, you can hear this amazing sound: it is very rhythmic and reminds me of the waves at the seaside. It is made by the beating of the bees’ wings as they fan their nest to keep the temperature at the right level -- how many people have heard that sound? I feel so privileged.

Obviously, I feed the birds. When I open the window in the morning I call “Come on Bobby and Blackie”, and one followed swiftly by the other they fly immediately to the bird table. Each morning, on rising, I make my way to the kitchen and find the squirrels already sitting on the window ledge waiting to be fed. Winter brings the moorhens and spring time the mallards. Our pond is a poor effort from a human point of view, but wild creatures see it differently. On summer days, the grass snakes spend long hours in the pond: eating the fish, froglets, toadlings, newts, and any other living creature they can swallow. Although I hate to see the pond emptied this way, I do enjoy the snakes and feel they are an important part of the balance of nature in the garden. Watching a dragonfly nymph climbing out of the pond, up a plant stalk, and then over the next few hours gradually transforming into a beautiful dragonfly -- these are contented hours well spent.

It has been my pleasure to write and publish a nature column each month. I am always delighted to hear how much pleasure this brings to my readers. I have often been asked if I have written a book, so I am making more of my writings and photography available through this web site and blog.