Seaside at Sunset

29 Fri Jul 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in music, plants, Rural Diary, seashore

Tags

Black-headed Seagull, common ragwort, Common Sea Lavender, gorse, hare's-foot clover, harvestman, mudflats, oil, Perennial Glasswort, plants, sand dunes, sea, sea campion, Sea Sandwort, Sea-holly, seashore, Suffolk, sunset, thrift, Walberswick

After a busy day last Friday and a hot, sunny day too, we thought it might be nice to go to the coast for a little while. We knew that it would be extremely crowded for most of the day so we left it until after we had eaten our evening meal and set off just before 8.00 pm.

We decided that we’d visit Walberswick as we hadn’t been there for some time and parked the car in the car-park there at about 8.30 pm.

Walberswick. With its creeks, mudflats, sand-dunes and varied flora it is a favourite place of mine to visit.

The mass of mauve flowers you can see in the photo above are Sea Lavender.

Common Sea-lavender (Limonium vulgare)

I couldn’t get a clear picture of these flowers – mainly because I couldn’t get down low enough! Sea-lavender (no relation of true Lavender) is related to the cultivated Statices – everlasting flowers. Many people pick these flowers illegally to make dried flower arrangements. Strangely, the drier the ground in which it grows, the taller it gets. This plant grows in great masses on the North Norfolk coast and I would love to see it there again.

There wasn’t much Thrift or Sea Pink (Armeria maritima) left – mainly seedheads. Thrift is a relative of Common Sea-lavender.

There was a lot of rather scrappy Hare’s-foot Clover (Trifolium arvense)…

…and a small amount of Sea Campion (Silene uniflora)

I cropped the photo I took.

The calyx (the area behind the petals) is swollen, like Bladder Campion is and is similarly patterned with red veins. The petals are larger and thicker than other types of Campion and usually overlap each other.

Sea Sandwort (Honckenya peploides). I like the way this plant grows. It reminds me of children’s building toys.

In Richard Mabey’s ‘Flora Britannica’ he says ‘… (Sea Sandwort) is one of the earliest colonisers of sand-dunes and shingle, and remarkable for its sprawling concertinas of geometrically stacked leaves’. It is able to keep growing upwards so if ever it is inundated with sand or mud it can survive. As with many seashore plants it is succulent and edible.

More Sea Sandwort, this time with a Harvestman or Harvest Spider. Can you see it? They are not true spiders but are related to them. They have one-piece bodies and no silk-glands so can’t spin webs.

Common Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) in flower and Gorse bushes (Ulex europaeus)

The dunes and my shadow!

Richard and Elinor beat me to the sea. The cool northerly breeze was so refreshing.

The sea and sky were beautiful

The sun was just setting behind us

Lumps of oil

More oil

I was sorry to see this oil on the beach. This is evidence that tankers have been flushing out their tanks illegally in N W European waters .

The sunset progressed.

The view out to sea still looked good.

Seagulls were making their way out to wherever it is they go for the night…

…except these two Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus) who seemed to be doing some synchronised beach-combing.

One last look at the sea…

We made our way back to the dunes where I found a couple more plants to photograph.

Sea-holly (Eryngium maritimum)

A most beautiful plant!

A cute little bug hoping I leave him alone!

Vetch and Hare’s-foot Clover

Perennial Glasswort (Sarcocornia perennis)

Another name for Glasswort is Samphire and like Common Glasswort (an annual plant which is also called Samphire) it can be eaten lightly boiled or pickled in spiced vinegar.

For many hundreds of years Glasswort was used in the manufacture of glass. The succulent stems were gathered at low tide, dried and burned in heaps. The crude ash which is high in soda was then fused with sand to make a poor quality glass. Saltworts were also used for this purpose.

View inland with the R. Blyth on the right

We had enjoyed our hour on the beach and went home cool and relaxed.

Thanks for visiting!

Home from Abroad

27 Wed Jul 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in family, Insects, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees, wild flowers

≈ 57 Comments

Tags

agrimony, butterflies, clouds, common darter, common knapweed, Diary, dragonflies, Field Beans, gatekeeper, Great Willowherb, hedge bindweed, lane, Lords and Ladies, Marsh Woundwort, Meadowsweet, ponds, ringlet, ruddy darter, scarlet pimpernel, spear thistle, Suffolk, Sweet Chestnut, thunderstorm, wild flowers, yarrow

We arrived back home last Wednesday after spending eight days in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest). It was probably the hottest day of the year so far and we spent it travelling by train up from Triberg, Germany to Ebbsfleet in Kent (England) where we had left our car. We set off from the hotel at 6.30 am European time and got home just after 7.00 pm British time (one hour behind Europe). The car thermometer said it was 32C (89.5F) when we set off from Kent and it peaked at 34C (93F) near the tunnel at the Dartford Crossing (under the Thames). As we drove home up through Essex and Suffolk we watched large black clouds to the west edging ever nearer and we hoped we’d be able to get home before the storm got to us. We did. It was still 32C as we unpacked the car, opened all the windows and doors in the house and wandered round the garden for a while looking at the long grass and the drooping plants. While I put the kettle on and made a cup of tea Richard telephoned the Chinese restaurant in Halesworth and ordered a take-away meal. He was just about to set off when the storm broke. It was the most violent one I’ve seen for many years with continuous thunder and bolts of lightening coming down vertically and travelling horizontally across the sky. The rain was very heavy indeed. Elinor and I sat on the stairs together as she gets quite frightened during thunderstorms and Richard went off to collect our evening meal. The storm gradually abated and the sky cleared but still Richard hadn’t come back and I began to worry about him. I found his phone which he had left behind so I couldn’t get in touch to find out where he was. I was considering getting in the car and going to look for him when I was relieved to see him driving up to the house. He had had a hair-raising journey and when he had got to Halesworth he found that the Chinese restaurant had a power-cut and couldn’t give us a meal. They had tried to phone him on his mobile to let him know, but of course he had left it at home. The town’s Thoroughfare was flooded with a foot of water and people were out trying to sweep the water away from the shop doors. Water was coming up through the drains and the town river was in full spate. Richard didn’t lose his head and knew he had a mission to accomplish so went to the other Chinese restaurant at the top of the town which hadn’t lost it’s power and ordered our meal from them instead.

When the rain stopped I went outside to enjoy the fresh, cooler air and took some photographs of the strange clouds.

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The following day I resumed my dutiful-daughter job and took Mum out to do her shopping. We had bought double her usual amount of shopping just before we’d gone away and we had made sure she had enough of her medication to last as well. While we were on our holiday she had been taken to church by my brother on the Sunday and he had cooked lunch for her at his house, so she had plenty to tell me.

When I got home again I got on with the washing and started to tidy the garden. Richard and I called in to see our next-door-neighbours who had been kind enough to water the plants in the greenhouse and to put our rubbish bins out for collection while we were away. We are very fortunate to have such thoughtful and generous neighbours.

The next day I continued with house and garden work.

Scarlet Pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis ssp.arvensis) found behind the greenhouse

Marsh Woundwort (Stachys palustris) found growing on the bank of the big pond.

I think this may be a male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) though it could be a male Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum)

A Spear Thistle (Cirsium vulgare) in flower near the big pond

A rather old and tired Ringlet butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus)

Hedge Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) in flower in the area between our garden and the field at the back of the house.

I believe this may be a female Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum)

Our Variegated Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa variegatum) in flower

Sweet Chestnut flowers

I walked down the lane with Elinor to post birthday cards to my niece Natalie (my brother’s daughter) who had her 31st birthday on the 23rd of July and cards to Alice my elder daughter who had her 31st birthday on the 24th of July. Natalie is exactly 23 hours older than Alice.

This is a teneral, or newly emerged dragonfly as you can see by the pale colouring and very shiny wings. I don’t know which dragonfly it is, unfortunately. It is perched on a Great Willowherb (Epilobium hirsutum) growing in the ditch at the side of the lane.

The new pond at the side of the lane which was dug during the winter.

Richard spoke to the man who lives on the opposite side of the lane to the pond and who was responsible for digging it. Apparently, many years ago there was a pond there which was wide enough and deep enough to enable the horses to be led to drink while still attached to their carts. It was filled in when horses were no longer needed on the farm but it has now been re-instated and I am very pleased. The pond is already full of interesting plants and insects which have found their way there on their own.

Our lane. I am standing next to the pond (on my left) and looking back in the direction from which we had come.

P1000922Perhaps wall of demolished St N church

Looking over the hedge into the garden of Church Farm I noticed this piece of wall covered in ivy. I wonder if it is part of the old church of St Nicholas demolished many hundreds of years ago.

Lots of unripe Lords and Ladies berries (Arum maculatum)

A field full of Field or Broad Beans.

Another pond at the side of the lane. This one has become rather overgrown. It has fish in it and I once saw a couple sitting at the side of the road with rods trying to catch fish.

View across the fields towards All Saints church which can just be seen to the right of centre on the horizon. It is slightly obscured by a thistle flower!

Common Knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Wild flowers at the side of the lane.

Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)

Meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)

Meadowsweet has a beautiful almond-blossom-like fragrance.

A poor photo of a male Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus)

These were all the things I saw at the side of the lane on a short 20 minute walk to post cards.

Here now is my musical choice – the Petite Symphonie in B flat for nine wind instruments by Charles Gounod, composed in 1888. It lasts about 20 minutes and is of four movements. I love the lyricism of French 19th century music and I like this recording of the piece very much. It is a piece of music I used to play and it brings back such good memories to me when I hear it.

Thanks for visiting!

Bluebells

24 Fri Jun 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in amphibians, Days out, Insects, plants, Rural Diary, trees, wild flowers

≈ 47 Comments

Tags

blackthorn, bluebells, Bugle, common backswimmer, Common Frog, coppice, early purple orchids, great crested newt, Herb-Robert, Lesser Celandines, primroses, Reydon Wood, Suffolk, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, sweet violets, walking, water-violet, wild strawberry, wildflowers

I love bluebells, as you no doubt have realised by now, and I don’t think I am alone in my love of these flowers. There is a scene in the film ‘Howard’s End’ that has one of the main characters walking through a bluebell wood – I find it very moving.

We try to visit a bluebell wood each Spring and this year we re-visited Reydon Wood on a beautiful Thursday afternoon in early May.

Elinor walking down the path towards the wood.

Last year we mistimed our visits, with one visit a little too early and another a little too late. This visit was ‘just right’.

The trees were just beginning to put on their beautiful spring clothes.

I peeped through the bars of a gate from the path and saw my first bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta).

Sweet Violets (Viola odorata) were growing at the side of the path, as were Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) and Greater Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea) but my photos of them were over-exposed.

There is a very deep ditch between the path and the wood (you can see the far bank of the ditch at the bottom of the photo)

The ditch was originally dug many centuries ago in an attempt to keep deer out of this coppiced wood. The bottom of the ditch may have had heaps of brush-wood in it as well as water to make crossing it more difficult.

This is a Wild Strawberry flower (Fragaria vesca) – not a good photo I’m afraid.

Herb-Robert (Geranium robertianum)

A mossy tree-stump

More Sweet Violets

The path through the woods

Lesser Celandines (Ranunculus ficaria)

Primroses (Primula vulgaris)

Both Celandines and Primroses had already flowered and gone to seed in the lanes near to my home, but the woods are darker, cooler places and the plants flower later and last longer.

Bugle (Ajuga reptans) flower spikes

An open ride in the wood with stacks of the harvested timber.

The pond in the wood

A Common Backswimmer (Nononecta glauca)

P1000131Female Great Crested Newt perhaps

This might be a female Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus)

A Common Frog (Rana temporaria)

Water-violet (Hottonia palustris)

There are a mass of these Water-violets round the pond

Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula) Unfortunately not in focus, though you can clearly see its spotted leaves.

A large coppice stool

Another Early Purple Orchid

Large amounts of brushwood have been stacked around an area that has been newly coppiced in an effort to keep the deer (and people, I expect) away from the new shoots growing from the stools.

This is a typical view of a coppiced wood

Here is a gallery of photos of the bluebells in Reydon Wood.

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I love to look up at the sky through the new leaves

Blackthorn blossom (Prunus spinosa)

Thanks for visiting!

This and That – Part 2

16 Thu Jun 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in Gardening, Insects, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees

≈ 44 Comments

Tags

Bee, blossom, cow parsley, Crabapples, dandelion, field maple, flowers, gardens, ground-ivy, Hawthorn, horse chestnut, Hoverfly, insects, jonquils, Lady's Smock, Maytime, miniature Tulip, narcissus, pasque flower, Pear, pieris, saxifrage, shrubs, St Mark's fly, Suffolk, trees, wild cherry

This post includes the better photos I took at home during the first half of May.

I have a few miniature scented Tulips. I have no idea what they are called or even when I got them though I think they are about 18 years old. I had a selection of red, orange and yellow ones but all that’s left are the red ones.

These jonquils are tiny and the flowers bob about on their narrow stems like yellow butterflies. Each flower is only about 2 inches across.

The Pasque flowers (Pulsatilla vulgaris ‘Alba’ )in my garden came out well after Easter this year. Not only was Easter early but the weather was cold and the flowers sensibly stayed as buds until the time was right.

I love this pretty pink Saxifrage!

Wild Cherry blossom (Prunus avium) with a visiting bee

Wild Cherry blossom. I like the green-bronze colour of the new leaves.

Pale yellow double Narcissus

Pear ‘Concorde’ blossom. This pear is supposed to be a dessert pear but by the time it is soft enough to eat it is already rotting in the centre. Perhaps our climate isn’t suitable for it? We harvest the pears before they have started to soften and we cook them or we prepare them for the freezer.

Pear blossom with a visiting Hoverfly. The lichen is doing quite well too with its orange fruiting bodies.

These are St. Mark’s-flies (Bibio marci) doing what flies do in the spring. The female is the upper fly and she has smoky-grey wings and a small head. The lower fly is the male and he has silvery wings and a larger head. Both sexes have spines on their front legs at the tip of the tibia. You can just see this on the female’s front leg. These flies fly weakly and slowly and dangle their legs as though the effort of flying is almost too much for them. They are called St. Mark’s-flies because they usually appear on or around St. Mark’s day which is April 25th. This photo was taken on 2nd May – it was a cold spring!

Lady’s-smock or Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) – a member of the cabbage family

New leaves on my variegated Pieris ‘Forest Flame’

Crabapple species blossom. Standing under this weeping tree I am almost over-powered by the scent of roses and the buzzing of bees.

These are the English Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) I am trying to establish next to the weeping crabapple. I have put canes alongside them to remind us not to mow them until the seeds have set and the leaves have died. I am also hoping that the canes will stop the deer from trampling the plants.

A beautiful Common Dandelion ‘clock’ (Taraxacum officinale agg.)

Crabapple ‘Evereste’ blossom

Crabapple ‘Harry Baker’ blossom

Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

The Horse-chestnut tree (Aesculus hippocastanum) with its flower ‘candles’

Field Maple flowers (Acer campastre)

Common Hawthorn flower buds (Crataegus monogyna)

Cow Parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris) (or as it is called here in Suffolk, Sheep’s Parsley) with a fly. I am very fond of Cow Parsley and the sight of masses of it in flower along the lanes makes me happy.

Here is another song that features a wonderful trombone solo and a fantastic brass riff too! This is a very old recording and it is also an uncommon arrangement for this song.

Thanks for visiting!

This and That – Part 1

03 Fri Jun 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in Gardening, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees, weather, wild birds

≈ 70 Comments

Tags

amelanchier, blackbird, blackthorn, bluebell, countryside, cowslip, daffodils, English Elm, English Oak, garden, Goat Willow, green woodpecker, greengage, horse chestnut, Lords and Ladies, Marxh-marigold, pheasant, photography, rainbow, Red Deer, shrubs, Snowy Mespil, Suffolk, trees, white dead-nettle, wild cherry, wild flowers

I have taken a number of photographs over the last few weeks but haven’t had the time to write any posts. Here are a few of the better pictures from April and earlier.

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)

Back in January I was driving home from shopping when I saw this small group of five Red Deer making their way across a field towards the road. I had to slow down and then stop because I could see that they were not only made nervous by my car but their usual path was blocked by a fire someone had lit to get rid of brushwood. They eventually managed to cross the lane a little further along and then carried on their way. I took a photo of them through the car window and this is the result – heavily cropped. I had thought that I had missed them and it was only when I eventually looked carefully at the shot on my computer a few weeks ago I realised that they were there!

The Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) family wandering through the garden at the beginning of April.

This is such an untidy photo with the recycling bin out by the roadside and my former car in the way too. This is another photo taken through glass (the kitchen window this time – you can see a reflection in the bottom left corner of the picture). We haven’t seen the pheasants for a while now so I presume the females are busy on their nests.

We had a storm with heavy rain and then the sun came out. It all looked so bright and fresh, so I stood at the front door and took three photos, to the left, straight ahead and to the right.

A few days later I stood at the end of the drive and took this photo of the ditch that runs along the edge of the garden. We have daffodils growing all along its length. The lane runs parallel with the front of our property. You can also see my new car in this picture.

Pussy Willow / Goat Willow (Salix caprea)

Goat Willow in flower

Cowslips (Primula veris)

A stormy sky. A photo of our house (and the house next door) taken standing next to our big pond and looking across the corner of the field.

The summerhouse

A Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) looking for ants in the lawn

I was quite pleased with this photo as it showed all the different colours of its feathers, even the black and white spotted feathers under the wings. This is a female adult as the moustachial feathers are all black. The male has a crimson centre to the stripe.

A male Blackbird (Turdus merula) was also on the lawn looking for food.

White Dead-nettle (Lamium album)

Wild Cherry blossom (Prunus avium)

The first Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) flower in our garden this spring

There is nothing quite like the scent of Bluebells. They are wild hyacinths but don’t have the cloying scent of the garden variety. There is a sweet freshness that lifts the spirits and is irrevocably linked, to my mind, with birdsong, sunshine after rain and hope.

Greengage blossom (Prunus domestica ssp. italica). I hope we have some fruit this year.

Some of the Cowslips in our garden are orange and red.

Pendunculate / English Oak (Quercus robur). New leaves and flowers (catkins) appear at the same time.

Marsh-marigold (Caltha palustris). I found it impossible to photograph this bright yellow flower well.

More Marsh-marigold

New Horse-chestnut leaves and flower buds (Aesculus hippocastanum)

Beautiful new English Elm leaves (Ulmus procera). We have a number of small Elm trees in our garden. Sadly they will only live for a few years before they succumb to Dutch Elm disease.

Lords and Ladies / Jack-in-the-pulpit / Cuckoo pint (Arum maculatum). This plant has many names. Its arrowhead-shaped leaves are often dark spotted.

Snowy Mespil (Amelanchier canadensis) blossom

Blackthorn blossom (Prunus spinosa). This poor photo is the only image of this year’s blossom I managed to get.

A rainbow behind the trees

All these photos were taken in April and in my garden, except the first one.

I find I haven’t made a music selection for a while so this post’s choice is ‘Let’s Work Together’ by Canned Heat. Excellent lyrics, great tune and the best tempo ever!

Thanks for visiting!

Fox Fritillary Meadow

26 Tue Apr 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, literature, plants, Rural Diary

≈ 54 Comments

Tags

Fox Fritillary Meadow, Framsden, fritillaries, In the Artist's Garden, meadow, Post Mill, Ronald Blythe, Saxtead Green, Suffolk, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, wild flowers

I belong to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, one of the 47 Wildlife Trusts in the UK and recently, while looking through their list of upcoming events I spotted a guided walk round Fox Fritillary Meadow in Framsden. It was recommended that I book a place, not because of limited space but so I could be contacted if there weren’t enough flowers in bloom to make my visit worthwhile. I was very pleased when Alice phoned me shortly afterwards suggesting she stay with us that weekend.

A few days after making the reservation I was happy to find a mention of the meadow in the book I was currently reading; ‘In the Artist’s Garden’ by Ronald Blythe.

He says of fritillaries … ‘Every April and May, from time immemorial, they show themselves in my orchard to remind me of what I have come to think of as their native land – Framsden, in Suffolk.’

He remembers his youthful visits to the meadow …

It is there, at the long pasture in the dell, which is covered with these speckled, bell-shaped, vaguely sinister blooms – the British species of genus Fritillaria liliaceae. It was an hour’s bike-ride from my house, and a proper pilgrimage for a member of the Wild Flower Society. And Mrs Fox, tall, elderly and generous, standing at the gate to welcome us where snake’s heads grew.

For 50 weeks her long meadow was no more than two acres of dank grass, with a lush drainage ditch severing it; but when the fritillaries came, it turned into the Plains of Enna when Persephone set foot in them. There they were – hundreds, thousands of them, some a papery white, but most a muted purple colour with the reptilian markings that gave them their nickname. Nightingales sang over them. There was a cold wind blowing, as well as these mysterious spring flowers.

It would have been a Saturday afternoon when Mrs Fox was at home. There were so many of them that we never knew where to tread, and when we left she would give us little fritillary bouquets. This was the time when country people believed that the more you picked the more they grew – a policy that rioted when it came to bluebells.

Fritillaries were so called by the Romans after their dice box, or shaker, which was one of the few personal belongings that a soldier carried around. This, and a chequer-board. ‘And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them and upon my vesture did they cast lots’.

I have a rather beautiful book (sent to all members in 2011 to celebrate the Suffolk Wildlife Trust’s 50th anniversary) which includes a photograph of the meadow and a little about its history. In it I am told that the meadow was sprayed in 1957 with a broad-leaved selective herbicide, as the owner hoped to benefit the fritillaries by killing all the other plants. The fritillaries survived because they are members of the narrow-leaved lily family. Cowslips, cuckooflower and ragged-Robin are slowly returning but compared with other meadows where fritillaries are found this meadow is less diverse. The Trust acquired the meadow in 1977 when the farm was sold, as Queenie Fox the owner wanted to be sure the fritillaries would be safeguarded.

The field we crossed on our way to the fritillary meadow.

The morning of Saturday the 23rd April was cold and breezy with many heavy hail showers. The Trust hadn’t contacted me so we assumed the open day was going ahead. By lunchtime the showers were dying out and when we set off on the 45 minute journey the sun was shining – but it was still cold!

The entrance to the meadow.

We found the site easily and joined others eager to see these strange flowers. At first, on entering the meadow through the gate, we didn’t see where the flowers were but a few steps further on and the mass of blooms became obvious to us. We carefully picked our way through the flowers, sometimes crouching down to admire them more fully, but all the while the further we walked the more flowers there were to see. The tributary of the River Deben which Blythe mentions as bisecting the field is still there but sadly, we heard no nightingales.

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When we had had our fill of fritillaries we left for home, stopping off at Saxtead Green to admire the Post Mill there.

Saxtead Post Mill – now owned and run by English Heritage

Richard and the Post Mill

Saxtead Post Mill

Some Lady’s-smock or Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis) that was growing on the green by the mill.

Thank’s for visiting!

November

26 Thu Nov 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in churches, family, Gardening, music, plants, Rural Diary, theatre, weather

≈ 47 Comments

Tags

Autumn plants, berries, church going, Diary, Don Pasquale by Donizetti, family, flowers, garden work, Glyndebourne Touring Company, house repairs, leaf colour, Open Space Theatre Company, snow, St Michael and All Saints and St Felix church, Suffolk, Uncle Vanya by Chekhov, weather

Red Christmas Cactus

Salmon Christmas Cactus

My point-and-shoot camera stopped working and we didn’t think there was much point in taking it to be repaired. A replacement probably costs what the repair would have cost – if it could have been repaired – so we ordered a replacement which arrived yesterday. Richard kindly said I could borrow his small camera while we waited for the replacement, but I never used it. There haven’t been many opportunities for photography during the past week and the camera only took a couple of days to arrive.

Acer leaves at the beginning of November

After a chilly week or so in October, the weather this month has been fairly warm for the time of year. We have also had a fair amount of rain. I have managed to do a little garden-tidying, though as usual, not as much as I need to do or as I would have liked! There may be a few more days this year when I can finish off the work so I am not too worried. We had a couple of storms with high winds last week which ripped most of the leaves from the trees and Saturday was cold with wintry showers.

Mahonia this November

Mahonia flowers

We had a gardener/landscaper and his assistant come to do a few jobs that Richard needed help with. Almost all our hedges have been cut and tidied by them and the front ditch has been strimmed. The hedges between us and our neighbours on either side of us have been left for now and will be done at a later date. Both of those hedges (like the front one) are on the far side of deep ditches which are fast filling with very cold water and are difficult to do.

Copper Beech at the beginning of November

Copper Beech in the sun in the middle of the month

Another job the gardener did was to dismantle our old summerhouse and extend the concrete pad on which it stood. When I say ‘dismantle’ I use the word quite loosely as all he did was lean on it and it fell down. With the winds that blew last week it probably would have fallen down without anyone’s help. Richard is still deciding which summerhouse to buy to replace the old one. We will be able to keep a few things in it that are needed for that end of the garden and Richard will be able to use it as a little home-from-home – a place to escape the hurly-burly of life in the house – a ‘shed’ with a view (of our big pond). I am sure a comfy chair and coffee-making apparatus will be making their way down the garden and the bell on the wall of the house will be put to good use when summoning him for meals!

Spindle berries beginning to split

Spindle berries

We got a couple of quotes from local replacement-window firms and have made our choice. The work to replace almost all the windows in the house, both garage doors and the back door and window in the garage will be done in January. I just know the weather will be freezing cold when the work’s done and I will have a miserable time of it! However, it will be worth it in the end as the house will eventually be considerably warmer and our heating bills will be much reduced.

The path round our big pond earlier this month while we still had some leaves on the trees

A new reed that has appeared next to our large pond this year

Richard spent a couple of days staying with an old friend in Manchester a few weeks ago. His friend had to retire early through ill health (heart attack) but is much better now and is enjoying not going to work. Richard came home after a very pleasant break much happier about his own retirement.

Lots of little bracket fungi found on a dead branch

Richard and I went to the Rectory coffee morning at the beginning of the month and enjoyed seeing all our friends from church. We came home with cakes, pains aux raisins, marmalade and a book – no prizes in the raffle this time. This month we also went to the Remembrance Sunday service at St James’ church which was quite moving. Representatives from all the villages in the benefice read out the names of all the people who lost their lives in some of the wars we have taken part in – the two World Wars as well as the Korean and the Boer Wars. The American airmen who lost their lives during WW2 and who were stationed at Flixton airfield were also mentioned.

Crabapple ‘Evereste’ covered in fruit . This photo also shows part of the front hedge and ditch before we had them both trimmed and tidied.

Alice came home the Saturday before last and stayed until the following Tuesday. This was only the second time she has been able to visit this year but we hope to see her at Christmas as well which will be fun! Mum came to lunch that Sunday and she enjoyed chatting with Alice and catching up with her news.

The church of St Michael and All Angels

The sundial on St Michael’s wall

Some of the sheep in the field next to the church.

(The three photos above were all taken with my new camera. I think I will need to adjust the settings to get clearer pictures.)

Richard and I had been to the 9.30 Morning Prayer service at St Michael’s church the Sunday before last. Maurice, one of our Benefice Elders, took the service and spoke about St Edmund, Suffolk’s Patron Saint whose feast day is the 20th of November. I had been due to take Mum to her church that day but couldn’t because of lunch-cooking duties. Instead, I arranged to take Mum to church this Sunday just gone. It was very icy with snow still on the ground in the morning and we assumed that it would be as bad at Mum’s house and at Eye; Richard said he would drive us in his 4×4. Unfortunately for Richard, the further inland we got the less snow there was and he found that he needn’t have driven me and Mum after all! He had to sit through a High Church service at Eye church with bells, incense and a procession to boot, because he had been gallant. Richard doesn’t like High Church services – his Methodist upbringing revolts against them. I was brought up going to High Church services and I can worship anywhere really, but do prefer my own local church with my friends and Richard by my side. I think I’ll be left to drive Mum to church on my own as usual in future, whatever the weather!

These next photos were taken by Richard on his phone on Sunday morning.

View of the garden from the conservatory

The greenhouse seen from the conservatory

The garden on the south side of the house from the conservatory

I went out for the evening twice last week. On Tuesday evening I took Mum to a performance of the opera ‘Don Pasquale’ by Donizetti. It was performed by the Glyndebourne Touring Company at the Theatre Royal in Norwich. We loved it very much indeed. The singing, the costumes, the orchestra and the stage set were fabulous. A really enjoyable evening out only spoiled by a gale blowing and making driving and walking difficult – Mum was nearly blown over a couple of times and I had to hold onto her tightly. Clouds of leaves were swirling about in front of the car and bits of tree were falling onto the road all about us. As I drove along I was aware of loose branches swinging to and fro just above the car and hoped I could get out of the way before they fell. Fortunately I got my mother and myself safely to Norwich and then back home again.

Wild Rosehips in the hedge.

On Saturday night Richard and I went to see ‘Uncle Vanya’ by Chekhov performed by the Open Space Theatre Company at The Cut in Halesworth. We both enjoyed the play very much which was acted and directed well. On leaving the theatre we found it had started snowing and as Richard had left his hat in the car he got quite wet and cold on our brisk walk to the carpark. The snow was falling heavily as we left the town and Richard found it very difficult keeping to the road once we left the street-lights behind. Most of our lanes have deep ditches running along next to them and there is always the risk of driving into a ditch in the dark. We were glad to get home again and into the warm. The snow didn’t last long and by morning most of the roads and paths were mainly clear but icy.

All photos in this post were taken either in our house or in the garden except for the ones of St Michael’s church.

My musical choice is performed by Emeli Sandé and Jules Holland.

Thanks for visiting!

An Autumn Walk at Minsmere.

29 Thu Oct 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, plants, Rural Diary, trees, walking

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

autumn, fungus, lichen, Minsmere, plants, ponds, RSPB reserve, Suffolk, trees, walking

We took advantage of a dry but cloudy afternoon earlier this week to walk through the woods at Minsmere. To those of you who don’t know, Minsmere is an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) wildlife reserve situated on the coast in Suffolk. We didn’t see many birds, though as the afternoon wore on and the crowds of visitors began to leave we began to hear more birdsong.

The cliff behind the visitor centre with Sand Martin (Delichon urbica) burrows. I’m not sure what the larger holes are – probably rabbit burrows.

We went first to the ponds behind the visitor centre to see if there was any sign of the Bird’s-nest fungus that was discovered there last year. I looked but didn’t see any though that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there! I did see some lichen on the decking.

One of the Cladonia lichens

More lichen was growing on the ground amongst the sparse grass and moss.

We saw lots of fungi on our walk but because of the low light many of my photographs didn’t come out very well and had to be erased.

Fungus

Reeds in the pond near the visitor centre – mainly Great Reedmace/ Bulrush (Typha latifolia)

A bright Sweet Chestnut tree (Castanea sativa)

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A little pale sunshine filtered down through the trees

I believe the section they have roped off here is where the Adders (Vipera berus) live.

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We saw plenty of Bramble flowers (Rubus fruticosus agg.)

There was dead wood everywhere

Richard and Elinor watching the rabbits on Warren Hill

Lots of rabbits live here. The birds of prey appreciate this!

We saw more of the sun as we neared sunset

Sun on the reeds and rushes

Minsmere at sunset

Edge of the wood

Sunset

I think this may be Lesser Water-parsnip (Berula erecta) but I am probably wrong.

Here it is again showing its leaves

One of the many ponds

A fern

Holm or Evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex)

The bracken has turned such a rich colour

More dead wood

More colourful bracken

The last fungus we saw – in the carpark!

Thanks for visiting!

Autumn in a Suffolk Lane – Part 2

11 Sun Oct 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in churches, Days out, Gardening, music, plants, Rural Diary, trees

≈ 42 Comments

Tags

Acorn, ash keys, Astrantia, autumn, Bantam Cock, beach, chickens, Chrysanthemum, conker, dogwood, Dunwich Heath, dwarf gorse, eating apples, Elderberries, fungi, gardening, GERANIUM, Grove snail, Hibiscus, Jake Thackray, Knopper gall, leaf colour, Linstead Magna, Linstead Parva, liverwort, Michaelmas Daisy, moorhen, Pyracantha, rough sea, Salvia, silver birch, Suffolk, sunset, Tansy, viola

The beach at Dunwich Heath.

We visited yet another of our local beaches on a very windy, cool afternoon recently. We only stayed on the beach for a short while because the wind was so biting; Elinor and I both got earache.

The mist in the distance is sea-spray.

The waves were quite rough but the tide was going out.

Foam was left on the sand and was blowing about.

This little fish must have come too close to the shore.

This Grove Snail (Cepaea nemoralis) attached to its bit of bracken was swinging about in the wind.

My ID guide suggests that the Grove Snail “is used to demonstrate the survival of the fittest in evolution, because Thrushes eat the snails which are least well camouflaged against their environment.”

The Heather (Calluna vulgaris) was past its best but the Dwarf Gorse (Ulex minor) was looking wonderful

Another sunset.

In a post I wrote a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the bright yellow of the Perennial Sow-thistle was not common at this time of year. I will have to eat my words because most of the flowers I have seen since then have been yellow!

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) seen on the roadside between Linstead Magna and the village of Linstead Parva *(see below)

The Tansy has very aromatic leaves and the little button flowerheads are made up of disc florets only.

The genus name ‘Tanecetum’ and the name Tansy are both derived from the Greek word for immortality. The plant was believed to give eternal life to the drinker of an infusion made from it.

Tansy used to be used as a flavouring in food until fairly recently. Egg dishes especially, were enhanced by the use of finely chopped tansy leaves. Tansy was also used as an alternative to expensive imported spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon and Tansy Cake at Easter was very popular. Because of the strength of its scent, Tansy was also used as a repellent, keeping mice from corn and flies from meat.

Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea)

Close to where I photographed the Tansy I found this hedge of Dogwood. It was covered in large black berries – the largest I have ever seen on a Dogwood – and most of the leaves had turned a beautiful red. Dogwood leaves are usually a much darker, duller maroon in Autumn.

What also surprised me about these Dogwood bushes was seeing flowers in bloom at the same time as the berries and the red leaves.

It isn’t easy to see them in this photo so I cropped it.

One of the flower-heads is in the centre of this picture. The couple of weeks of warm and sunny weather we have had recently had fooled the bush into thinking it was spring again.

Richard and I have been working in the garden, getting it ready for winter. I only seem able to get out there a couple of days a week but I have managed to get quite a lot done. One of my jobs has been tidying behind the garden shed and round the back of the greenhouse. Behind the shed was rank with weeds, mainly stinging nettles, which I was able to pull out fairly easily as the soil is quite damp there. I had stored lots of pots and tubs full of spring bulbs behind the greenhouse so these have come back out to be smartened up and got ready for next spring. I discovered other flowerpots that should have been emptied and cleaned ages ago.

IMG_5783Marchantia polymorpha liverwort with snail

This pot was covered with liverwort Marchantia polymorpha. It has little green cups on the leaf-like structures (thallus). Do you see the baby snail?

We have a lot of fungus all over the grass in our garden. Nothing exciting or colourful, just brown and cream-coloured toadstools. These had been nibbled by something.

Two other unidentified types of fungi.

I have had this Hibiscus for about 26 years. It was a gift from my ex-mother-in-law who brought this with her when she came to see us when Alice was a tiny girl.

I love these double flowers – the peach petals have dark crimson bases.

Richard has a new Chrysanthemum flower

My Geraniums are still flowering

I like this pretty Viola

Three different Michaelmas Daisies

Salvia

The three ages of Astrantia

Elderberries from the bush at the end of the drive.

Acorn This is the first time in years that these acorns aren’t affected by Knopper galls.

This is a photo I took last year of Knopper gall damage on acorns

‘Conker’

Ash ‘keys’

The trees in our lane

Our Silver Birch is changing colour

Birch leaves

I pruned our Pyracantha recently

We not only had a lot of aphid damage to our apple trees in the spring and early summer but the apples on this tree are now being eaten by Moorhens! It is odd seeing water birds wobbling about in the trees gulping down our apples as fast as they can.

We are getting a little tired of next-door’s free-range chickens in our garden all day. They kick about in the flower beds and damage seedlings; they peck off flowers and generally make a mess of the paths, beds and compost heaps in the garden. We have spoken to our neighbours about it a few times but they don’t appear to have any intention of keeping their chickens on their own land. They have a constant supply of chicks too.

Linstead Magna (large/greater Linstead) is now a small collection of houses and farm buildings. The church no longer exists but I spoke to someone some years ago who remembered the church and used to attend it. For more information about this church see here.

Linstead Parva (small/lesser Linstead) is a pleasant little village with a pretty church. In spring the churchyard is covered in snowdrops and other spring flowers.

Thanks for visiting!

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside

17 Thu Sep 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, plants, Rural Diary, wild birds

≈ 34 Comments

Tags

beach huts, beach shop, cannon.Battle of Sole Bay, community radio station, flowers, fungus, GunHill, herring gull, high tide, lichen, life guards, pier, promenade, sand dunes, sea, seaside, shrubs, Southwold, Southwold & Walberswick ferry, Suffolk

My last but one post featured a walk we took on Dunwich beach. This post is about a walk at Southwold.

As most people who live near the sea know, the best time to visit the beach is after the end of the school holidays. There are fewer visitors and there’s a greater chance of finding somewhere to park your car. The sea is warmer than at the beginning of summer and with luck the weather is good too.

We have been having fairly changeable weather this summer so when we saw that the weather was bright and breezy the other Saturday afternoon we decided to make the most of it and go to Southwold. When we arrived we saw that the tide was right in and the northerly wind was causing the sea to be quite lively.

High Tide

The waves were rolling in round the base of the steps that go down to the sand so we couldn’t get onto the beach just yet.

Stairway to the sea

We walked along the promenade while the tide started to recede.

Southwold Pier

As I mentioned in a former post about Southwold, the pier was restored a few years ago. It is fun to walk out there when the tide is in and see the waves splashing just under your feet. There are places to sit and watch the waves and there are places to buy food and drink and shelter from the wind. The end of the pier is very popular with fishermen. This is a link to the Pier Cam which will show you a little of what we like to see. There isn’t much to see at night except the lighthouse flashing but during the day-time it’s quite interesting and you get to find out what the temperature is on the coast too. Don’t forget the time difference if you live overseas!

End of the Pier

There seemed to be a number of young Herring Gulls about. (Larus argentatus)

Immature Herring Gull

It was a really pleasant walk along the front with other promenaders. As the sand started to appear people ventured onto the beach and the life guards marked out the safe bathing areas. Huddled in coats and blankets, the beach hut owners were sitting with the doors opened as they read or drank hot tea or coffee.

Beach Shop

Southwold Beach

Elinor bewails the fact that our sea isn’t blue. The North Sea is not deep and the sand on the sea-floor gets churned up especially in stormy weather. Our sea is brown most of the time.

At the end of the prom. the path goes up the slope to Gun Hill.

Gun Hill

On the 28th May 1672 a famous sea battle was fought just off-shore from Southwold. This was the Battle of Sole Bay when the English and French fleets clashed with the Dutch fleet. It was the first naval battle of the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War and ended with a tactically indecisive result though a strategic Dutch victory. The English and French fleets combined had a total of 71 warships and the Dutch had 61 vessels and the total number of men taking part was said to have been 50,000. There was great loss of life. James, Duke of York the brother of King Charles II was Admiral of the English Fleet and took up residence for the duration of the battle in Sutherland House in the town.

Cannon on Gun Hill

There are six 18lb cannon on the green and were given to the town in 1746 by The Royal Armouries as protection to shipping against raids.

Gun Hill

Their last known firing was in 1842 to celebrate the then Prince of Wales birthday. Southwold was bombed during the First World War because the German army considered that Southwold might be a fortified place because they had seen the cannon. The cannon were buried for safety during the Second World War!

Cannon

Another feature of Gun Hill is the radio station building.

Community Radio Station in the Casino

The primary radio transmitting studio is located in an old WWII bunker in the grounds of St Felix School Reydon, a village next to Southwold but further inland.

Erigeron glauca

A few naturalised garden plants thrive on the slopes up from the beach.

Unknown Yellow Daisy

I don’t know what this flower is; I see it is suffering from mildew!

FrenchTamerisk (Tamarix gallica)

These plants are often planted for soil stabilisation or to act as a wind-break. They aren’t native but have been established here for a long time and do very well on the coast.

Beach Huts

There are beach huts all the length of the sea-front.

Gun Hill Beach Café

This is one of the two kiosks that sell food and drink.

Looking Towards Walberswick

Walberswick is the seaside village next to Southwold going south down the coast. The two places are separated by the River Blyth as it flows out to sea. There is a ferry operating during the summer months.

Looking Towards Walberswick

Sand Dunes

We thought we might walk through the sand dunes to the ferry.

Sand Dunes

The Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria) was bending in the strong wind.

Fairy-ring Champignons (Marasmius oreades)

I found a rather shrivelled fairy-ring.

Sea-Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)

The tree is small and suckers easily. It has thorny twigs that have silvery scales that rub off. The bark is fissured and peeling.

Sea-Buckthorn

The leaves are long and thin with silvery scales on them. I couldn’t see any fruits on these trees so they were probably male trees.

Camp Site

There is a camp-site on the outskirts of the town.

We almost got to the River Blyth but Elinor began to get a back-ache and we had to turn round and make our way back to Southwold.

Towards Southwold

As well as the lighthouse you can see the tower of St Edmund’s church and the water tower.

Towards Southwold

Tiny House

Lichen

Chicory (Chicorium intybus)

Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)

Southwold with one of it’s many greens.

Southwold

Lifeguards

Southwold Beach

Sea at Southwold

Southwold

Here we were approaching the pier again and the car park beyond it. You can also see the two-storey pavillion building at the end of the pier built in 1936.

I hope you have enjoyed this visit to Southwold.

Thanks for visiting!