In nearby fields, wheat, barley and the like have
turned golden; rape seed has turned straggly and is ready to crop. Here at
Gibside, the Ladyhaugh meadow has already been cut, and the one by the Orangey
will be cut any day now. The farmer will want the cut grass, and the livestock
will benefit from the assortment of wild flowers taken with it – though not all
are welcome. Knapweeds, ragwort and docks make for coarse animal feed.
And ragwort has another unwanted trait: it’s toxic,
and a problem for grazing animals – particularly cattle and horses which are
attracted to its sweet, honey flavour.
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| Heather in all it's glory |
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| Basking tin for grass snakes was burried in the bracken |
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| Himalayan balsam - the bane of a volunteers life |
Much of June and July’s colour fades through August,
as the range of plants in flower lessens – or so it seems. Yellow of ragwort, groundsel,
hawkbits and hawkweeds gain dominance, along with the pinks and purples of
heather, willow herbs, and the dreaded Himalayan balsam. Devil’s-bit scabious
and harebell add a delightful touch of blue, though broad-leaved helleborine on
the Avenue bank goes unnoticed unless searched for. In too many places,
stinging nettle and bracken are rampant.
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| Newts found under grass snake tins |
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| One of the many toads |
We haven’t found any grass snakes under our bits of
corrugated iron this month (or any other), but common toads have settled in
nicely in great number. It must be a cosy place to gobble up the resident
invertebrates. Of course, toads would be gobbled up in turn by grass snakes, if
there were any around to do the gobbling.
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| Berries on a rowan tree |
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| Small skipper butterfly |
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| Grasshopper |
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| Soldier beetle |
Steve Wootten & Phil Coyne
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