Friday 9 April 2010

When we walked in fields of gold

Now that "spring has sprung", mother nature's
creation of new life, seems more poignant than
ever. I must confess that, like C, my favourite season, due to the dramatic colour changes, has always been autumn - However, the new buds, bulbs and flowers, combined with the shrill of courting birds, has proved to be a welcome tonic, as I move forward.

I live on the Glos./Herefords. borders, and this area is well known for it's wild daffodil fields at this time of year. We always enjoyed a trip to the Kempley daffodil walk, and felt so lucky and privileged to listen to the tourists commenting on the surroundings. Even now, I can hear C giggle and say to me, with the look of an excited child; "we live here". Although both "incomers", we were immensely lucky to have found such a lovely area to live in.

Years ago, before Dr. Beeching took his axe to the old railway network, locals would be busy around now, picking daffs, to be taken by railway, direct to London, to be sold next day on the London wholesale markets. Nowadays, the commercial sale of this local crop has ended, but the "daffodil walks" still prove popular with visitors.

I'm very lucky, my neighbours opposite have a wild crop of their own, away from the eyes of the visitors, which seems to expand further into one of their orchards each year. It's a little oasis of gold, in a quiet field, in a quiet corner of England. Not far from where the war poet, Rupert Brooke stayed before going off to fight in "the war to end all wars".

As well as the daffs, piglets and lambs, there's also been another new arrival at the farm. The first male child to be born there in over 100 years. Those of you who followed C's blog will have read of the country wedding we attended two summers ago. Well the stork has arrived and delivered a beautiful bundle of joy.

Mother nature is all powerful - As she takes with one hand, she gives with the other.

6 comments:

  1. Would love to be there to enjoy it. We've got snow in Western Canada today.

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  2. No snow here . . . but no bloomin' daffs either - as usual we are way behind everyone else. But it is sunny and it is warm and there are definite signs of new growth now. Like you and C I love the Autumn, but have grown to appreciate the beauty of spring too.

    So pleased to hear of the new arrival.

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  3. I remember C's post about the country wedding. Who lovely that the young couple has a new son.
    It sounds like you live in a beautiful part of your country.

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  4. Without wanting to sound too flowery(excuse the pun) Mr Woozle -this is a lovely blog. We are lucky that there are a fantastic show of wild daffodils on the bank near to the ruins of the old mill we own. They are much more slender and taller than the cultured daffodils and so neat. Fifty years ago my mother-in-law used to bunch them up and sell them in Shrewsbury Market - Oops couldn't do that now!! Congratulations to your friends on the birth of their new son. Wonderful news.

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  5. I too love the autumn, drawn to it being an autumn born child but there is something wonderfully refreshing about the spring, invigorating sometimes a little brash even just like nodding daffodil heads in teh sun. Sometimes you can't help but smile! How exciting to hear of the new baby...

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  6. As Rupert put it...'Gave once her flowers to love, her ways to roam'. What a lovely blog about your 'corner of England'.
    Fields of daffodils are magical, and the Tamar Valley (Cornwall) where I used to live also sent daffs to London by train. The hedgerows even today, are full of daffs, because farmers would toss spent bulbs into the banks when they replanted their fields.

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