Meadow Waxcaps, a gentle blend of the colours you might see on the belly of a fallow deer, and the glistening bright Yellow Waxcaps and Scarlet Waxcaps, braise themselves in their hygroscopic liquors among thin slices of garlic on my stove, mushrooms almost too rare to eat now, mushrooms that memorialise lands that have escaped the chemicals. These come from Bonnylands, and no matter what the origin of a name that, high up here on the border, may as well be derived from Welsh as from English, those who knows this high windy open space love it for its name as well as for the views. West are the ridges of the Black Mountains, sometimes side-lit to reveal every rhiw and watercourse, every crumbling ancient field wall or thorn tree, and sometimes black flat back-lit cut-outs. Out east the plain and the hills topped with oak woods, Clee Hill and the Malverns as the world curves away and May Hill, topped with a clump of trees and scatterings of harebells, just visible rising out of Gloucestershire. On a good day you can see the Severn floodwaters glittering from high places in these hills.
1) Nature can be resilient, as shown by the amazing Norfolk ponds projects, where species reappear in ancient ponds that were filled in by farmers years ago. But your lovely list of flowers in that field is not a patch on what would have been found in any old hay meadow -orchids, twayblade, dyer's greenweed, hay rattle, trefoils and medick, ragged robin, primroses, knapweed, mouse-ear, stitchwort - need I continue? There is a big unresolved debate about whether we need to consciously rebuild ecosystems or whether we can leave it to nature. In my view it depends on how much time you think we have left.
2)Efficiency. Terrible word. In a privatised hospital or railways or sewage works, it means transferring as much public money as possible to shareholders. Never mind waiting lists or delayed trains, or shit in rivers everywhere. On a farm it means converting as much of the biosphere as possible into cash to join the subsidy cash in the farmer's bank. Efficiency has meant damaging the environment for personal gain by someone who has got hold of a bit of the planet and can do what he like with it Should mean rebuilding the biosphere while producing food rather than money
I've lived in an Essex village for nearly 40 years. It is intensively and efficiently farmed. This year a large corner of a field which to my certain knowledge has been in cultivation every year was just left. What a surprise when May came round. It was a paradise of flowering plants, including two vetches that were new to me, an enormous number of different grasses, clover, and later on evening primrose. Several of the flowers I have never seen flowering in Essex although they were familiar to me from my Herefordshire childhood. I asked the farmer if he had thrown some flower seeds around and he assured me he hadn't. Just shows how long mother nature can bide her time if forced to.
Thank you.
Two points
1) Nature can be resilient, as shown by the amazing Norfolk ponds projects, where species reappear in ancient ponds that were filled in by farmers years ago. But your lovely list of flowers in that field is not a patch on what would have been found in any old hay meadow -orchids, twayblade, dyer's greenweed, hay rattle, trefoils and medick, ragged robin, primroses, knapweed, mouse-ear, stitchwort - need I continue? There is a big unresolved debate about whether we need to consciously rebuild ecosystems or whether we can leave it to nature. In my view it depends on how much time you think we have left.
2)Efficiency. Terrible word. In a privatised hospital or railways or sewage works, it means transferring as much public money as possible to shareholders. Never mind waiting lists or delayed trains, or shit in rivers everywhere. On a farm it means converting as much of the biosphere as possible into cash to join the subsidy cash in the farmer's bank. Efficiency has meant damaging the environment for personal gain by someone who has got hold of a bit of the planet and can do what he like with it Should mean rebuilding the biosphere while producing food rather than money
Hi Dan. Hope all well with you!
Regards. R
I've lived in an Essex village for nearly 40 years. It is intensively and efficiently farmed. This year a large corner of a field which to my certain knowledge has been in cultivation every year was just left. What a surprise when May came round. It was a paradise of flowering plants, including two vetches that were new to me, an enormous number of different grasses, clover, and later on evening primrose. Several of the flowers I have never seen flowering in Essex although they were familiar to me from my Herefordshire childhood. I asked the farmer if he had thrown some flower seeds around and he assured me he hadn't. Just shows how long mother nature can bide her time if forced to.
What a beautiful piece of writing