As you know, we have been busy with home improvements this year so haven’t had the time to go on our usual walks very often and I haven’t taken as many photos as usual. Richard and I did manage a walk or two in April along the lanes and over the fields.
Our local farmer has taken to sheep farming in recent years and this year he coppiced many of his overgrown hedges and then waited to see what came up again. He has selected the plants he wishes to retain in the hedges and has cut out the rest. He has put up stock fencing next to the new slim-line hedge and all is looking very different now.
We took our usual walk across the fields just after the coppicing had been done. All the heaps of wood were burnt and you can see a smouldering heap of wood-ash in the centre of this picture.
The last time we had walked this route there had been a thick hedge just in front of the ditch in the foreground.
I was quite concerned about the loss of the hedges because they are usually full of nesting, singing birds in the spring. However, the farmer does care about the local wildlife and had left reassuring notices next to the ex-hedges stating what he was intending to do.
A view across the open fields. This walk was taken at the beginning of April while the weather was still bright and warm.
This oak tree had been blown down in storm ‘Doris’. The green you can see is the ivy that had been growing up the tree trunk. Most healthy trees can cope with ivy growing on them and this one had seemed to be healthy.
An upright tree this time, with holes it in, probably made by woodpeckers.
Another view of the fields and that blue sky!
Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum) and Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)
The Blackthorn blossom (Prunus spinosa) was very good this spring.
This rather dull and unassuming little plant (not a clear photo, I’m afraid) has the interesting name of Sticky Mouse-ear (Cerastium glomeratum)! The leaves are the shape of a mouse’s ear and they are also sticky as you can see in the photo; the leaves are covered with grains of sand.
I found yet another Barren Strawberry plant. (Potentilla sterilis)
It is easy to tell the difference between a Wild Strawberry and a Barren Strawberry even if there are no flowers to be seen. The leaves of the Barren Strawberry are a mid-green colour and are matt whereas the Wild Strawberry leaves are shiny and yellow-green. The leaves of both plants are toothed but the Barren Strawberry’s terminal tooth (the one at the tip of each leaflet) is smaller and shorter than the ones next to it. You can see this quite clearly on the photo above. The Wild Strawberry’s terminal tooth is as long as or longer than the ones next to it. The flowers are different too. The Barren Strawberry flowers have large gaps between the petals and the sepals are clearly seen in the gap. The Wild Strawberry’s petals are close together and the sepals are hidden behind them.
A Blackthorn hedge in flower
A view of St. Peter’s church tower in the distance
One of my favourite views through a gap in the hedge
Another view from our walk. The field close-by has barley or wheat growing in it; the yellow field in the distance is of oil-seed rape.
A field of Oil-seed Rape
This photo is of the bank of a ditch and shows the lumps of chalk that can be found in the clay soil here
The verge at the side of the lane was covered with Lesser Celandines (Ficaria verna)
Another view across the fields…
…and another!
Ash tree flowers ( Fraxinus excelsior)
Most of our fields are surrounded by deep ditches.
Annual Mercury (Mercurialis annua)
Most of the Mercury that grows here is the perennial Dog’s Mercury which is found in (sometimes) large swathes under hedges and in the woodland. The Mercury in the photo above is the Annual Mercury which doesn’t grow in swathes and is branched (unlike the Dog’s Mercury). It is not a native plant but has been here for at least 1000 years, introduced from mainland Europe.
Cowslips (Primula veris)
A pond at the side of the lane
The last of the Primroses (Primula vulgaris)
Part of St. Margaret South Elmham common
Another Blackthorn hedge
Blackthorn blossom
Another short walk we took was to view the orchids flowering along the verge near to us.
Early Purple Orchids (Orchis mascula)
Early Purple Orchids
We also saw purple Bugle (Ajuga reptans) and Dandelions (Taraxacum agg.)
Bugle
This seems to be a Cowslip/Primrose cross
An over-exposed and out-of-focus photo of Lady’s-smock/ Cuckooflower (Cardamine pratensis)
Richard and I also called in at our neighbour Cordelia’s Daffodil Sunday when every year she opens her beautiful garden to the public in aid of St. Margaret’s church.
Her garden is full of spring flowers
The weather was perfect for the open garden this year
The Old Rectory
Looking towards the church from the Old Rectory
More flowers
Daffodil Sunday
Daffodil Sunday
The drive up to the house
I apologise for the length of this post!
My music choice this time is ‘The Banks of Green Willow’ by George Butterworth
Oh my, you have spoiled us today, Clare. I loved all of your photgraphs. I can certainly see why the view of the gap through the hedge is one of your favorites. Another favorite was the field of Oil-seed Rape. After a long day of revisions, you rclosing song choice was exactly what I needed. Thank you! ❤
Another great choice of music that compliments your photos of the fine spring weather and your surroundings! I also liked all the flowers and plants that you highlighted, especially the Sticky Mouse-ear, what a name for a plant. 😉
It’s lovely to have a catch-up post. It reminds me of the days when letters took weeks to arrive, and the fact that the news was ‘old’ didn’t lessen the pleasure of reading the news.
Incredibly rare. I received a postcard from a friend visiting the Lake District; probably the first handwritten communication I have had in the last 6 months!
Simply beautiful, Clare – as ever! Loved the choice of music too; I’m not a huge listener of classic music, but like this piece and it suited the mood of your post perfectly.
You are so kind, Mike – thank-you. I am pleased you liked the music. Butterworth was killed in the Battle of the Somme on 5th August 1916 aged only 31 years old, having been awarded the Military Cross just a couple of weeks before.
You got some lovely days for your walks and took advantage of them to take some very attractive pictures. It is always good to see some general pictures of how the land lies.
I hope the house renovations are going well. With countryside like that all around me I’d probably never get anything done.
It’ll be interesting to see what comes of the hedge. Hopefully the birds will be able to return.
How lucky you are to have orchids growing right beside the road!
Thank-you very much, Allen. We have had a little break from renovations during the last month and have had a holiday in Switzerland as well. Back to reality now!
I am hoping that the hedges will attract the birds and insects again in time; they are starting to grow quite nicely.
The photos from spring are beautiful, Clare! We are in our hot, dry summer season now, and the forecast is for 94 degrees today, reaching 110 by Wednesday. Those cool, beautiful spring days in any part of the world are a welcome sight.
Thank-you Lavinia! My goodness, I would find your summer temperatures very hard to cope with and so would my husband who dislikes it if we get temps above 72 degrees!
A wonderful range of plants and views from spring to summer. Always so green. Here a bit parched but the trees create the green and a bit of rain dare I say would be welcome! Good to catch up with you!
Oh, how I enjoyed the Butterworth, Clare! All those photos show that quintessential England which all anglophiles love to see. But your own are so pretty, also. Cordelia’s daffodil gardens look wonderful, and I can see why that particular view through the gap is a favorite of yours.
A beautiful reminder of this past spring, and more to come! I especially love the daffodils amid emerald green grass and sunlight filtering through the trees.
It is over 38 degrees Celsius here today. The smoke from forest fires is providing some haze and keeping the temperatures down a bit.
Thank-you Lavinia. I am so pleased we haven’t those temperatures here! Europe is also experiencing very high temps while we have strong south-westerlies off the Atlantic with plenty of rain.
Lovely photos, Clare, and I wouldn’t take out a single one. The inclusion of them all gives the detail and beauty of a walk through the countryside. It makes it unhurried and takes one away from the other worries and cares that stack up in life. If it was a short post, it wouldn’t capture the correct pace and value of the peaceful nature of the stroll. Thanks so much for sharing,
You really did do some catching up. I loved the blackthorn blossoms. Don’t know if we have that on this side of the pond or not – perhaps by another name.
Thank-you Mark. I investigated and discovered that it isn’t a native tree to the States but it has naturalised in parts of eastern North America. As far as I can find out it is still known as Blackthorn.
Sorry I’m late catching up with your posts. such beautiful photos and views, it must be a joy to go for a walk where you are ❤ ! You should never apologise for lengthy posts, I really enjoy them and all your photos, it's lovely to see more nature than I can naturally where I live. 🙂
I'm surprised by that name Sticky mouse-ear, I've never heard of it before!
I think we all do catch up in our own time. I’m not able to keep up with blogs everyday and tend to follow all my blogs in a sort of catch up way, although I’m sorry I took so long to visit yours, I didn’t mean to take that long 😮 😦
I’m doing some catching up as well, trying to read all the posts I missed earlier in the year! Such a delight to see all of the spring flowers in your photos…I’m missing all of the blooms already even though fall has just arrived. We’ve had some strong winds and snow already and most of the leaves have fallen.
Snow! I hope we don’t get that too soon. We are having a short Indian Summer here with temperatures in the low 20’s Centigrade! High winds are forecast on Monday.
Thank-you for reading this post, Sheryl and for your kind comment xx
Jill Weatherholt said:
Oh my, you have spoiled us today, Clare. I loved all of your photgraphs. I can certainly see why the view of the gap through the hedge is one of your favorites. Another favorite was the field of Oil-seed Rape. After a long day of revisions, you rclosing song choice was exactly what I needed. Thank you! ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Jill and thank-you!
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quietsolopursuits said:
Another great choice of music that compliments your photos of the fine spring weather and your surroundings! I also liked all the flowers and plants that you highlighted, especially the Sticky Mouse-ear, what a name for a plant. 😉
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much Jerry! Plants do have very strange names sometimes! 🙂
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quercuscommunity said:
Nice to see more news from Suffolk. I’m looking forwards to reading about your summer – it should make my Christmas seem warmer! 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Haha! Very droll! 🙂 I have now got rid of all my draft posts I’m glad to say.
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quercuscommunity said:
🙂
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susanpoozan said:
What beautiful countryside you live in, I particularly enjoyed the blackthorn blossom and the wild orchids.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Susan. The blackthorn was wonderful this year! I’m hoping to find some sloes as Richard wants to make sloe gin this autumn.
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margaret21 said:
I love your flower photographs. And as for wild strawberries and barren strawberries. Who knew? I just thought they weren’t fruiting yet!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Margaret. I hadn’t realised there were barren strawberries either, until a year or so ago.
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Liz said:
Lovely photos as usual, Clare, thank you. And how fascinating about the hedges – it will be really interesting to see how this all works out.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Liz! We are also waiting to see what it all looks like once the hedges grow a little taller.
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Gallivanta said:
It’s lovely to have a catch-up post. It reminds me of the days when letters took weeks to arrive, and the fact that the news was ‘old’ didn’t lessen the pleasure of reading the news.
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Clare Pooley said:
You are so kind, thank-you! Ah yes – proper letters! They are such a pleasure to receive and so rare these days.
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Gallivanta said:
Incredibly rare. I received a postcard from a friend visiting the Lake District; probably the first handwritten communication I have had in the last 6 months!
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Clare Pooley said:
What a treat!
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Jane Sturgeon said:
A beautiful spring collection. Thank you Clare and I hope you and Richard have had a lovely holiday. Hugs and much love ❤ xXx ❤
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you my dear Jane! We did have a most enjoyable holiday. Love and hugs xx ❤ ❤ xx
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bitaboutbritain said:
Simply beautiful, Clare – as ever! Loved the choice of music too; I’m not a huge listener of classic music, but like this piece and it suited the mood of your post perfectly.
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Clare Pooley said:
You are so kind, Mike – thank-you. I am pleased you liked the music. Butterworth was killed in the Battle of the Somme on 5th August 1916 aged only 31 years old, having been awarded the Military Cross just a couple of weeks before.
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Andrea Stephenson said:
Beautiful photos Clare, a lovely reminder of spring and all its bounty!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Andrea!
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tootlepedal said:
You got some lovely days for your walks and took advantage of them to take some very attractive pictures. It is always good to see some general pictures of how the land lies.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you so much, Tom.
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
I hope the house renovations are going well. With countryside like that all around me I’d probably never get anything done.
It’ll be interesting to see what comes of the hedge. Hopefully the birds will be able to return.
How lucky you are to have orchids growing right beside the road!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Allen. We have had a little break from renovations during the last month and have had a holiday in Switzerland as well. Back to reality now!
I am hoping that the hedges will attract the birds and insects again in time; they are starting to grow quite nicely.
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KerryCan said:
Your post and photos just say “England” to me!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Kerry!
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Laurie Graves said:
I’m with Kerry all the way. Lovely, lovely post and beautiful music, which is playing as I write this. Oh, how I could visit England.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you so much, Laurie!
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Lavinia Ross said:
The photos from spring are beautiful, Clare! We are in our hot, dry summer season now, and the forecast is for 94 degrees today, reaching 110 by Wednesday. Those cool, beautiful spring days in any part of the world are a welcome sight.
Listening to the music now,and enjoying it.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you Lavinia! My goodness, I would find your summer temperatures very hard to cope with and so would my husband who dislikes it if we get temps above 72 degrees!
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Cynthia Reyes said:
Thanks for the tour, Clare. Always a balm to my soul and much appreciated, especially right now!
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Clare Pooley said:
My pleasure, Cynthia and thank-you!
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navasolanature said:
A wonderful range of plants and views from spring to summer. Always so green. Here a bit parched but the trees create the green and a bit of rain dare I say would be welcome! Good to catch up with you!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much! We have had a little rain here during the past few weeks I am pleased to say. The level of our pond is very low.
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Lisa G. said:
Oh, how I enjoyed the Butterworth, Clare! All those photos show that quintessential England which all anglophiles love to see. But your own are so pretty, also. Cordelia’s daffodil gardens look wonderful, and I can see why that particular view through the gap is a favorite of yours.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Lisa! I am so pleased you enjoyed the music! 🙂
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Christy B said:
Oh wow look at all of these amazing photos! The orchids are my fave of what you show here 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Christie! The orchids are such a pretty colour, aren’t they? 🙂
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Lavinia Ross said:
A beautiful reminder of this past spring, and more to come! I especially love the daffodils amid emerald green grass and sunlight filtering through the trees.
It is over 38 degrees Celsius here today. The smoke from forest fires is providing some haze and keeping the temperatures down a bit.
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Lavinia Ross said:
And the music is beautiful!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you! 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you Lavinia. I am so pleased we haven’t those temperatures here! Europe is also experiencing very high temps while we have strong south-westerlies off the Atlantic with plenty of rain.
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Dina said:
What a prefect combination, beautiful music and lovely photos, Clare – a treat for sore eyes.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Dina. 🙂
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Charlotte Hoather said:
I love Countryside walks, I’ve spent so much time in Cities this year it’s good to see open spaces.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you Charlotte! A country walk can be so relaxing I find xx Take care 🙂
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sherijkennedyriverside said:
Lovely photos, Clare, and I wouldn’t take out a single one. The inclusion of them all gives the detail and beauty of a walk through the countryside. It makes it unhurried and takes one away from the other worries and cares that stack up in life. If it was a short post, it wouldn’t capture the correct pace and value of the peaceful nature of the stroll. Thanks so much for sharing,
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Clare Pooley said:
You’re very welcome, Sheri and thank-you.
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markspitzerdesigns said:
You really did do some catching up. I loved the blackthorn blossoms. Don’t know if we have that on this side of the pond or not – perhaps by another name.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you Mark. I investigated and discovered that it isn’t a native tree to the States but it has naturalised in parts of eastern North America. As far as I can find out it is still known as Blackthorn.
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mypeacockbooks said:
Sorry I’m late catching up with your posts. such beautiful photos and views, it must be a joy to go for a walk where you are ❤ ! You should never apologise for lengthy posts, I really enjoy them and all your photos, it's lovely to see more nature than I can naturally where I live. 🙂
I'm surprised by that name Sticky mouse-ear, I've never heard of it before!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you so much for your kind comments, Cat. I have been away for a few days and am catching up again!
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mypeacockbooks said:
I think we all do catch up in our own time. I’m not able to keep up with blogs everyday and tend to follow all my blogs in a sort of catch up way, although I’m sorry I took so long to visit yours, I didn’t mean to take that long 😮 😦
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Clare Pooley said:
No apologies necessary xx
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Sheryl @ Flowery Prose said:
I’m doing some catching up as well, trying to read all the posts I missed earlier in the year! Such a delight to see all of the spring flowers in your photos…I’m missing all of the blooms already even though fall has just arrived. We’ve had some strong winds and snow already and most of the leaves have fallen.
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Clare Pooley said:
Snow! I hope we don’t get that too soon. We are having a short Indian Summer here with temperatures in the low 20’s Centigrade! High winds are forecast on Monday.
Thank-you for reading this post, Sheryl and for your kind comment xx
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