The Hide – Ugly ?
No it’s not a vanity thing and I’m not fishing for compliments ( feel free to comment if you want ) but a throw away comment from a passer by regarding the “ meadow “. So let me explain , first with a little context. The meadow is a roughly triangular in shape , about 1.5 acres in size and has footpaths running along two sides. I don’t often see and one walking past but the other day whilst cutting the main pathway in the meadow i had a brief conversation with someone. “ the meadow is quite ugly isn’t it ? “ was the question thrown at me. What followed was a brief but one sided exchange of views.
And here is the problem. The meadow is nearly fully enclosed by mature hedgerow and trees , and surrounded entirely by farm land with access by foot only via the two paths. I explained that we aren’t managing the meadow as such , more protecting the land and letting nature do its thing. Is it pretty , well perhaps not but it is completely natural and this small area supports a vast variety of insect life with the number of species in the hundreds. This in turn supports over 50 species of birds and at least 10 different mammals . So this ugly meadow is a natural history treasure trove , and we have no plans to beautify it anytime soon.
Speaking of the residents , which feather and furries made the register . Starting with my furry friends we have a singe Roe Deer , the Grey Squirrel Gang including a very little one who was so nervous , the Rat pack , a couple of Rabbits and a few Mice.
Feather wise we have all the usual suspects , Robins , Great tits , Long-tailed tits , Great tits , Dunnock and Chaffinch. Then we have the Great Spotted Woodpecker , Wood Pigeon , Blackbird , Jackdaw , Magpie and Jay. All in , a decent days wildlife watching !
As ever , thank you for all you support , comments and views. Having you on this journey is a pleasure and much appreciated. Here is a shout out to a few more city’s ………….. Cincinnati – USA , Vic – Spain , Berlin – Germany , Hull – Canada , Sydney – Australia . Here is the month to day heat map.
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I can’t imagine a comment like that about this beautiful place😒
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I think sometimes people can’t see what we are doing , the land doesn’t conform to what some people expect from a wild space. Just makes me more determined to protect this little space .
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What on earth were they doing there if they couldn’t see the beauty in what is a natural habitat?? Some people!! 😀
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I guess our little patch of land doesn’t match the rest of the countryside around it. It just reinforces that we are doing the right thing, there is way to little land that is untouched . Thanks for the comment and support , much appriciated .
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Good for you, the Hide is not a park for humans, is it?
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Some don’t understand the process we are six years in to with the meadow. To create a safe haven and let nature take its own course. We have planted over 100 trees to reinstate the border’s and to date we have 10 new trees that have naturally germinated. The meadow will ultimately be designed by nature , for nature .
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Great work it is!
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