A Spring Palette
The colours of mid-April Yellow, white and green. If you look around our countryside right now, these are the predominant colours, alongside the browns of the earth and the trees. In the hedgerows, the white blackthorn blossom is over and it leaves are pushing through, but the hawthorn blossom has not quite ready to show …...
Art in Nature
An exhibition of sculpture at Helminghall Hall Living so close to Helminghall Hall, I’m sure many or most of us have walked the public footpath through the park filled with deer, soay sheep and of course the many veteran and ancient oaks. Certainly Finn, my goldendoodle, and I go regularly. You’ve maybe also enjoyed the...
Hedgerow Jelly
Come the autumn, the hedges are dripping with fruit for birds, mammals and insects to build up their resources for the winter ahead. Likewise, I aim to fill and store jars with rich purple jams and jellies made with fruit harvested while dog walking. Any sunny afternoon I can be found scouring the hedgerows for …...
Otley’s Platinum Jubilee Oak
Part of the celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee in 2022 is the ‘Queen’s Green Canopy’ or ‘Treebilee’ – the planting of trees throughout the kingdom. In March 2022, a native oak was planted in our village. It was provided by the East Suffolk council and kindly planted by Chris Taylor....
Elderflower tea anyone?
The elder tree: a tree respected for centuries, esteemed for its provision of food and health benefits to mankind, and still sharing itself with us today. Elderflower tea, anyone? Despite it being such an important tree species in the UK, many of us might struggle to identify an elder tree – especially as it’s more …...
Hawthorn or blackthorn?
Hedges of frothy white blossom flanking our roads and pathways are just one of the joyous signs of spring. But what is the blossom that so beautifully proclaims the changing of the seasons? It’s possible that, along with many others, you might assume that the first hedgerow flowers belong to hawthorn bushes. But think again. …...
Spring flower gallery
Spring is here and the hedgerow and verge-side wildflowers are singing with pleasure.
My favourite animal
Sisters, Martha and Anna Groenwald, sent us three lovely drawings of their favourite wild animals that they might see around Otley. They chose a squirrel, a kestrel and a hedgehog and we love these drawings. For information about hedgehogs, go to our post about these wonderfully prickly, charismatic mammals >>...
A winter walk with Anthony Ling
“I’d like to think that all farmers see themselves as guardians of nature on their land.”
Hedgehogs
Hedgehogs are surely one of those animals that we have all loved since childhood. They occur commonly in folktales and, of course, stories such as Beatrix Potter’s Mrs Tiggy-Winkle ensured they hold a place dear to our hearts for many of us....