There's always time to take in the view, though. This is what it looks like at the moment from our small field at the back of the house, looking East.
The tall poplars, leaf-naked but dripping with catkins, line the bank of a drain. The drain (dyke or ditch or lode) is about 15 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The drain is our shared boundary with the neighbouring farmer who farms the flat fen fields that surround us. The stock fencing in front of the poplars form a corridor where I can move sheep from one field to another.
In the distance is a line of scotch pines marking another field boundary and maybe acting as a wind break. To the right is a huge leylandii hedge which stretches for about 150 yards or more. Its full of pigeons that ravage my brassicas if they get the chance. If you zoom in you can see along the hedge an orange digger that has been clearing the drain to the back of us and along the leylandii hedge.
The field behind us used to be water-logged but was only brought into cultivation with the help of the War Agricultural Committee ('War Ag') when food production became a priority during WW2. This was when the drain was dug out.
Last year the field grew potatoes. I'm not sure what is going in next. I enjoy the changing view as the year unfolds.
The war AG must have been very clever and able people. I like reading about Dig For Victory and about the Land Girls.
ReplyDeleteYes, they played a valuable role in keeping agriculture a priority during the war.
ReplyDelete