On Sat 1st I was due to lead a flower walk at Lower Winskill Farm, as part of National Meadows Day. The day was organised by Catherine Mercer of the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.
On Friday at 5pm I went back up to Lower Winskill.
Tom discovered two baby swallows in the middle of the newly swept barn floor. Dead.
Part of their nest on the roof beam had collapsed. A third baby was still in the remaining part of the nest.
It was dark and grey and drizzling and sometimes raining. With Tom Lord's permission I dug up some red clover, some white clover and a little bird's-foot trefoil. I was amazed how deep the tap root of red clover went into the ground. I wanted to be able to demonstrate to people at the Meadows Day that it is easy to see root nodules in clover roots.
I returned to find that Tom and Gabriel had made a new nest out of a black tray and attached it to a more accessible beam and put the remaining baby swallow into it. The parents found and visited their remaining chick.
In the field I was a bit disappointed that I could only see two clover plants with nodules, but I took them all home
However on Saturday morning I got up earlyish and washed them and discovered that with a hand lens I could see at least one or two nodules on roots of each plant.
I designed and printed out some grass cards so that people could stick grasses onto them. As part of the day might double up as a "1st of the month climate walk" I printed out a Green Christian July Prayer booklet and also the resignation letter of Zac Goldsmith, who had resigned the previous day - His letter said how Britain had taken the lead in the past recent years on the world stage over environmental laws and issues but now was not doing so and our reputation had gone and that the Prime Minister wasn't interested.
Whilst online I noted that Tom Lord had been up three hours before me and put something on Facebook - He later told me he had got up early to mow the paths that we would use to see the meadow.
I went up by 10am but then came home again an made a sign "Meadows Day" (laminated A4) to attach to the post at the turn off to Lower Winskill. It was windy windy SO windy. But with my big roll of silver gaffer tape I succeeded in securing three signs to the post.
The wind and impending drizzle led Catherine to abandon her Bumble Bee walk, but she ran a short workshop on Making a Wildflower Meadow (or similar title) . I took four people up to the meadow and we looked at six flowers. Then Tom gave everyone a talk on Farming, and I enjoyed a cup of coffee and biscuits. Sally and Keith turned up with a bacon butty and sausage butty for me from Settle Anglican Church. (which they sell on the first Saturday of the month)
Stephen Dawson and Eleanor and .... came up. Stephen facebooked about the Whitefaced Woodland Sheep
I took two groups out. It was V E R Y windy. But we all enjoyed it. The Betony and Ladies Bedstraws both looked beautiful.
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