The Sun is blazing ever on
There is no rain nor shade
The soil’s water all but gone
Tough choices must be made
The grass turns yellow, then to brown
Blades die so roots may live
Lack of water brings them down
The sky has none to give
Agrimony lanced out of the margins beside the path as I strolled up through Long Meadow this morning. The usual Meadow Browns fluttering gaily above an all you can eat buffet of wildflowers. I counted 13 in total over the course of the morning. Heading first to Large Copse I scanned the Black Pines in an attempt to spot some of the early morning singers, but after the 50th instance of confusing a pine cone for a bird I gave up. A patch of Burdock I strimmed a few weeks ago beside the path was vigorously re-sprouting. Tough little chap.
Crows and Jackdaws were very vocal above Skipworth Meadow, with a few Six Spot Burnet moths fluttering about closer to the ground. Crosswort and Privet were flowering along the hedges, and the grass of the path below my feet was browning noticeably underfoot.
At the drove several Goldfinches were excitedly chattering away, with Chiffchaffs and Skylarks chiming in in the background. A Buff Tailed Bumble Bee dined upon a Knapweed flower, a flash of purple in a sea of Yellow Rattle. Also in bloom was Field Scabious, and I spied a Small Skipper fluttering past as I admired one.
Up on the Downlands Marbled Whites were quite prolific, as well as the pink flowers of Centaury and some surprisingly lush Pyramidal Orchids, rather greener than I expected given the weather. On the Lighthouse Slope Chalk Milkwort flowers sat beneath a few scattered Ox Eye Dasies, with an unexpected Speckled Wood butterfly near the bottom of the Gulley. Dunnocks were singing from the trees with a few Blue Tits dotted around as well. A few thin cumulous clouds hung low far on the horizon. It’s a start, but we need more.