Townsend Meadow was all aglow a couple of evenings ago and not only that, I walked home from the allotment in sunshine that was warm. On the other hand, I had just mowed three of my allotment paths, which are all uphill, so perhaps I was simply overheating. Anyway this is how things were looking this week in the field behind the Farrell domain – until the gloom and rain resumed. The oil seed rape (canola) is on the cusp of flowering. I’ve just caught the forward blooms here; most of the field is still green, though it won’t be long. Soon we will have a sea of acid yellow to look out on – always good against a stormy sky, and given the weather forecast we can be sure of having a few of those over the next couple of weeks.
I had rather hoped the farmers were giving this field a rest after a couple of seasons of wheat – maybe putting in a green manure, or leaving it fallow as once happened in the days when farmers took crop rotation and care of the soil to heart. Ah well. The farmers who farm here are tenants who doubtless wish to extract maximum advantage before the actual landowner gets round to building the housing estate he’s been promising us for 2025. Who cares then, about the state of the earth?
Tish Farrell 
Oh my! A housing estate? I guess it’s like the old song, “…you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone
Paved paradise, put up a parking lot”
Those golden blooms are gorgeous.
Got to maximise the family assets…
Couldn’t have put it better myself…..
A feast for the eyes!
The end of the day…Something I seem to be looking forward to these days.
One does have those moments, Beverly 🙂
Does my head when they do this. We have it all the time over here as well, and there is so much space, but they simply have to carve up green spaces.
Most of the land round our town is owned (inherited) by one family. It is pretty good farmland, but upscale housing produces millions if the development is piecemeal to keep prices high. This means little or no affordable housing is being built, unless a housing association can do the job and they can get to buy a bit of land. Young families who want to stay in the town have to rely on bidding to rent social housing. Upshot: we have an ageing population living in over-priced houses. Bonkers all round!
That sounds so much like NZ — except for the concentration of ownership. Bad for everyone, socially and environmentally. I wish someone would invent a vaccine against greed. Beautiful image though, and a little balm for embattled souls.
Thanks, Su. Am feeling we need a lot of soothing images just now. I am getting very cross, one way and another.
Sorry, forgot to add … the photo is lovely.
Thanks, Ark 🙂
The light in that top shot is luminous, Tish. Seems there’s no end to the building, but I can also understand the owner’s desire to cash in on some of the money. We have places like that around us, farmland that’s used probably to keep taxes low (because it’s farmland), but that is worth a fortune if sold to developers. That being said, I always hope that it’s not sold, at least not for a very long time!
janet
Will hang on to that hope, Janet. Thank you. Development does actually cause a lot of problems in the town – flooding etc. But Wenlock has cachet and that’s an attractive commodity.
That’s it. I’m inspired. I’m going out there and clearing the garden. Or at least I’m going to give it my best shot. i needed this.
Yippee! And Forward Ho, and more power to you and the great clearing endeavour.
Beautiful picture.
Thank you, Ali.
Live the golden glow. Hope the land doesn’t suffer.
Thanks, Sherry.
Lovely colours. The trees suddenly seem to have erupted! Must have been that spell of warm weather! I love to see rape seed fields as they are so gaudy, but the pollen does make me sneeze dreadfully.
Yes, I nearly mentioned that I could look forward to sneezing in a week or so. And as for the trees, they seemed to sprout before ones very eyes.
That is a beautiful image and a lovely story—though I am now mourning the lack of a fallow field! Still, any green (or yellow) growing space is preferable to housing construction. Enjoy the scenery while you may!
Thank you. That’s v. good advice 🙂
I like these bright and cheerful yellow colours in your photo. Lovely landscape composition, Tish!
Thank you, Peter.
What a beautiful light on the rape flowers. Spring in front, but looks like autumn leaves on the trees in the background. Lovely photo
It does look like autumn leaves. I think there are copper beeches there for one thing. I think those trees are the remnant of the cottage hospital arboretum, planted in Edwardian times. Much of the rest has been built on!
Sad to see so much good land disappear in to a concrete jungle, happening everywhere over here too
Yes a lovely warm glow – I’m sure yours was too 🙂 🙂 🙂
The rape’s been flowering here for a couple of weeks, I used to associate it with high summer but it begins way before doesn’t it?
A housing estate in 2025, sounds like here. the developers seem bent on filling all the gaps between the city and small towns and villages around, it probably won’t the farmers who can’t afford to produce anything now have sold every acre. #worldgonemad
I remember when we used to visit my Pinhoe aunt at annual intervals, seeing all the creeping infill of housing developments. I wouldn’t mind quite so much if a) the developments were well designed (rarely), and b) if there weren’t brownfield sites that could be developed first and c) if there wasn’t already much empty property in our towns and cities (around 1 million I gather). #worldgonemad indeed. And yes the rape is appearing v. early nowadays. On Gardeners World this week Milan was featured with their experiment in forested high-rises. Amazing to look at – pollution reducing, biodiversity increasing and life enhancing for city dwellers.
All this rich colour – and a bird too. A housing estate?? Much worse than the dam that’s being built next to my weekend bush block.
I saw the Milan project too. High rise with an acceptable face, Tish 🙂 🙂
Was v. impressed that they were growing crab apple trees up there. I mean – how wonderful is that!
Fields of rapeseed are so beautiful, especially, as you said, against a stormy sky.
We have the stormy sky, but also pouring rain, so no snapping opportunities today.
The picture is delightful… worth looking at for long periods of time, and the post itself reads like poetry, telling the simple truth known and experienced by many of us… thank you.
Thank you, dear Shimon, for those very kind words.
That is a very beautiful sight, Tish. I am glad you have finally experience warm weather, may it last!
It’s still coming and going, but maybe some actual warmth at the weekend 🙂