Wednesday 21 August 2013

Changing Seasons



One of the pleasures of living in the country is seeing how the seasons seamlessly move on, and the animals – both domestic and wild – move with it.

Scabious in bloom - lovely!
Our wildlife meadow is now just past its best but the Scabious has just come into flower as it always does late in the season, giving a blue sheen to the field and providing a new source of nectar.  
 
The Swallows have just raised their second batch of young who left the nest yesterday for the first time.   

Soon we will see the lines of Swallows who gather above our yard ready for their long flight back to their Winter home.

The goats who have spent the Summer sleeping in the outbuildings, as they always do, have started to spend more time at night in the main barn they will inhabit throughout the Winter.  

Aunt Dotty - bless her.
And Aunt Dotty our cow, although she still has more than enough grazing outside has started to meander into the barn now and again for a look around as if also getting ready for Winter.
 
Now the grass has finished its early flush when it is as its most lush, Jeremy our oldest horse who suffers from painful laminitis, can now spend more time outside without the risk of the rich grass causing a recurrence.

The evenings are really drawing in now and nature seems to be on the change again.