Spring into Action

It's 7:15am, my train has been cancelled and it's raining. Another train will come but I choose to cycle the 11 miles to my employment, through April's finest showers. A"man" in a black Audi tries to run me over halfway through my journey; hopefully he is still stuck in traffic somewhere. As I work, I sit in my office in the midst of the massive, soulless industrial estate that is Segensworth, near Fareham. I occasionally gaze wistfully out of my window at what is possibly the least inspiring view I have ever had to endure.

Toward midday the grim grey clouds gradually break and the sweet azure begins to brighten my mood. Suddenly my heart is dramatically lifted as I spot and instantly recognise a Kite, slowly gliding over the drab grey buildings opposite. Lunchtime looms and as always, I get out of the building. I jog out of the estate, dodge the speeding motorists and slip through a hedge. Within 10 minutes I am standing in a field and my tightly coiled mind begins to unwind.

I find a footpath and follow it. I spot Plum blossom and Blackthorn too. Most of the white flowers in the hedgerows now are Blackthorn, so I predict a good year for Sloes. I make a mental note to add the locations to the fruit map. Further into my walk, I spot some old neglected Apple trees, or are the Pears? It's hard to tell in Spring. I also note several Cherry trees about to burst into bloom. After a brisk 10 minute walk I reach my intended target, a ruined abbey that I have noticed on a map, it is pretty impressive. In the grounds I locate several fruit trees, one of which is covered in delightful flowers, I think/hope it is a Peach tree.

After a short explore and a wander about it is time to return. I retrace my footsteps back to my office and work but now I am rejuvenated and refreshed. I'm looking forward to my journey home - It's a Bank Holiday weekend coming up. I'm looking forward to stepping off the treadmill, ricocheting about with the family, cultivating our allotment and hopefully scoffing an Easter egg.

As a sad postscript to this little tale, the large field that I got into via the hedge is shortly to be "developed" into an enormous care village. So, yet another green field site is to be decimated for private profit. I spotted a planning notice pinned to a lamp-post (hidden in a hedge where there was no pavement). I really cannot understand how these decisions can get past the local councillors. Although, we could probably guess...

Spring is Sprung

At last! I have spotted my first Plum blossom of the year. It’s far from abundant at the moment, but in the warmer sheltered places the delicate creamy white buds that cover the branches are now opening to reveal their petals. Soon we will begin to see whole swathes of this ivory bloom along the roadsides and in the hedgerows.

 Remember though, it is not only the flowers of the Plum that herald the onset of Spring, the closely related Blackthorn will also bloom at the same time. The plums will develop fruit that will ripen in the Summer but Blackthorn bushes supply the Sloes and these will not mature until late Autumn .

Now is the time to begin spotting and identifying blossom, wherever you are and record its location. Once you have done this, you should also take a moment to indicate it on the Falling Fruit map.

During the chilly month of February, we took a trip to discover a stone circle near Oxford. The Devil’sCoits are situated in the beautiful village of Stanton Harcourt. The original landscape was shamefully destroyed by gravel extraction and then replaced with landfill but thankfully, the henge and stone circle has now been restored.

While we were in the Cotswolds we spotted lots of beautiful Kites. These large but extremely graceful birds of prey are a delight to watch as their distinct silhouettes circle above the villages, scanning the landscape for food.

The Urbane Forager Book Update…

Swift progress has been made during the Winter on the new Urbane Forager book and we are now in the final stages of the design work. We have a few early versions of potential covers for the book jacket and will post them here soon for your approval.