By the end of August the UK had entered a 'False Autumn', brought about by the extreme weather conditions that had occurred during July and August. The MET informs us that it was the 3rd warmest August since 1884, with the rainfall well below the average. There were more wildfires around London and the South East and flash flooding in Truro. Across Britain, birds were seen panting to stay cool and Avian Flu was continuing to devestate wild bird population, in particular seabirds. We now know that Avian Flu started in an industrial commercial goose farm and yet our government is still giving the go ahead to more and more industrial scale poultry farms, in which diseases are rife and the sewage runs into our rivers. And all over Britain, human sewage continues to be poured into our rivers and seas without any of the polluters being held to account. All of these are signs of climate breakdown, and still this government sees more lobbyists from fossil fuel companies than anybody from the green industries. All of this pales into insignificance to the damage and destruction we create around the world by our lifestyles in the west. It all gets a bit bleak sometimes. Our MPs are utterley useless and incapable of grasping this issue with any degree of seriousness.
And yet here on The Lizard, there is much beauty and joy to be found. Large pods of dolphins have been regularly sighted around the coves and the lovely purple and pale pink Cornish heather has started to emerge all over the coastal hills. In the field here skylarks have gathered, alongside the cinnabar caterpillars climbing all over the ragwort. There have been mass gatherings of spiders and they have been busy making their webs; the orb webs, the funnel webs and sheet webs are all sharing the field. The seasonal dew in the mornings make all these homes a stunning glittering display, especially when the sun shines on them.
Another sign of a false autumn has been the earlier arrival of berries and nuts in the hedgerows. The sloes have been huge, the blackberries have put on a final spurt, having given us fruit since June and the chestnuts had ripened by the end of the month. Premature ripening unfortunately affects the food source for small mammals during the winter. They need this food in September and October to give them energy to get through the cold months. Some of these animals will not get through this winter. However the sloes look delicious, (even though they are not), the trees are laden with their fruit and their dark purple skins look glorious against the green in the hedgerows.
In the rest of the field the grasses are dry and pale and the shrivelled docks add a shot of warm sienna brown to the picture. Wild thyme is still present in the stone hedge, self heal and common centaury can be spotted in small colonies but of course the pink campion still dominates. There is never a month in which it doesn't rule this small patch of land.
Comentários