<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} p {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0cm; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0cm; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p>Today has been one of those rare days this summer, a dry warm sunny day, and the butterflies are out in droves. To date we have seen small tortoiseshell, comma, large white, peacock and red admiral butterflies. Although these are appearing in large numbers five species over several hours does not make this a butterfly haven.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Years ago we did a butterfly survey in various locations around. In truth the children did the survey as they belonged to an English Nature group called Watch. For a good butterfly location you needed to spot 8 species in just 20 minutes. I think that just goes to show their decline in the last twenty years as even visiting one such location we found then in more recent times we struggled to find the number of species in a whole afternoon.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>More recently we carried out garden surveys for the Butterfly Conservation group. Here you simply recorded whether a species was spotted during the month with no counting involved. Sadly lack of funding meant that survey was not continued although we do keep our own not very scientific records.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Have been trying to get some shots of the butterflies on the buddleia but they naturally favour the blooms out of reach so no luck as yet. May add photo later if I have better success.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Later</p> <p>Despite spending half an hour in various spots around the buddleia bushes I failed to get any really good shots - just a few of a somewhat bedraggled large white butterfly. The honey scent from this particular bush is intoxicating. The other two bushes we have carry much darker plumes of flower and are not so highly scented.</p>

<p>A couple of days ago we had one of those sharp sudden heavy downpours and the birds were obviously caught out by it too. Looking out of an upstairs window I spied a solid row of starlings along the electicity cable behind the house all in various stages of sorting out their ruffled feathers. Sadly many of them flew off when I gingerly opened the window to take a photo but this still left quite a line up. Sitting ducks rather like those on the fairground stall. Used to be more interesting when they did this as there were originally four rows of wires and they resembled more of a musical score - in fact a musician friend tells me that a stave once only had four and not five lines. (Never checked it out so don't quote me.)</p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> <object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui> </object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Domesday - 925 years on</p> <p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have just spent some time looking up various places on the BBC Domesday Reloaded site (<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday">http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/domesday</a>) and quite fascinating it has been, too. Back in 1986 there was a project aiming to make a modern Domesday survey 900 years after the original ordered by William the Conqueror. The country was divided into squares and photos could be submitted and short pieces of writing about things local communities thought would interest people in the future. Much of the writing was done by primary aged children in local schools and the one where I was teaching was involved.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is disappointing to find that only photos appear for the area covered by our school. I know there were some problems with producing the final Survey which was to be stored on two huge disks. I believe the technology did not really take off and it is only recently that the results have been available on-line. At the time our villages were threatened by the extension to the M40 from Oxford to Birmingham and in fact the route was changed somewhat after the Survey was completed but here you can read some of the concerns of those living in its path. A similar situation is currently going on not so far away as the route for High Speed train is debated.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I have already found accounts of major cattle markets no longer trading, companies that have amalgamated or lost altogether and events that no longer take place. Considering the time scale this is quite revealing. Well worth checking out for places you know and maybe even a resource tool to consider.</p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning /> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas /> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables /> <w:SnapToGridInCell /> <w:WrapTextWithPunct /> <w:UseAsianBreakRules /> <w:DontGrowAutofit /> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]> <object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui> </object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p>This year Hatfield House in Hertfordshire celebrates its four hundredth anniversary. Not that we were aware of this when we planned our recent visit but it did mean we saw the exhibition of Henry Moore sculptures that have been brought in for this year. Seeing them in a garden setting seemed more in keeping than in an indoor exhibition.</p> <p>The house is the star, of course, and with the Great Hall being almost the first room you encounter you might expect the rest to disappoint but we met so many informative guides, willing to chat and impart the little details that make the place come alive, that we found it a delight from the formal rooms right down to the basement kitchens and domestic quarters.</p> <p>In the kitchens we saw sample menus and admired a display of thirty odd copper kettles which we learned were used by maids to take water to the upper floors for baths. No doubt many repeat trips were necessary and the baths lukewarm on really cold days as a result.</p> <p>We didn't have time to explore the park on this occasion but the gardens were a pleasant place to stroll and enjoy the sunshine. We were able to view the new sundial in the Sundial garden (only formally unveiled on Thursday - and enjoy displays of herbaceous plants and herbs, water features and knot gardens before wandering out into the "Wilderness" where the majority of the sculptures were displayed.</p> <p>However, as is my wont, it was the details that really took my eye. . We found many examples of green men masks, both indoors and out and from different eras. Symbolism was very important to people in Tudor times and once these had been pointed out in one painting we looked for the tiny details in others.</p> <p>The building that Elizabeth I would have known is the Old Palace, only one range of which remains, the other three sides of the courtyard being demolished to build the new house. Re-using the bricks of course - recycling is nothing new. Close inspection shows the bricks are laid differently to a modern wall. One row shows the long side of the brick much as we lay them today but the row above shows the small end of the brick with the bulk going back into the wall. Known as English bond, this is apparently the strongest way for a laying bricks for a single wall. Our staggered brick patterns are more recent being used for double walls.</p> <p>Our first visit to this particular house but hopefully not our last.</p>

<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--></p> <p>Hard to believe that this morning we actually ventured forth in lovely autumn sunshine. The rain is being driven against the window and it is as gloomy as winter. The morning sunshine did, however, allow us to return to the mystery tree covered in fruit about which I wrote last week.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>We had long considered it to be a crab apple from the blossom but on closer inspection the fruits were on long stems and in bunches like cherries and the leaves had a serrated edge. Although our trees book uses photos rather than drawings there were no crab apples anything like this, hence the picture last week being titled wild cherry.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>It was Bob who raised the seeds of doubt but it was only today we have the definitive answer. My OH suddenly realised we could solve the issue by cutting a fruit on half. A cherry would contain a stone but cutting an apple in half across the middle reveals the distinctive star pattern with seeds and thus it proved to be. So we are back with the crab apple title. The tree is in&nbsp;a stretch of hedge containing several different species which would normally be taken to indicate a hedge of some age. It is away from any of the local villages so unlikely to be seed from a cultivated variety. There is a variety of crab apple found in the southern counties which resembles this specimen so we have to conclude that it has spread northwards to some extent.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Our trip today, though took us further afield and I finally tracked down a spindle tree. Unremarkable for most of the year this tree produces what I consider to be our most beautiful fruit - in appearance that is. I spotted it from some distance away and on closer inspection the hedge it was in had been cut back with one of those awful flailing cutters. The result was no fruits at all low down but a mass higher up the tree. A deep ditch of water meant that I could get no closer than four feet away but at least a couple of shots came out OK and one shows not only the bright pink fruit but also the orange seed emerging in the centre. There used to be many of these trees in the hedgerows around but I have searched for almost a month before finding this single example. What I hope to do is to return to these bushes at intervals over the coming year to record them in their different stages of development. That is the plan at least.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>We are used to losing flowers from the runner beans to the local sparrow population but had been puzzled keep finding full leaves from plants scattered around the garden away from their source. This morning the mystery was solved when we watched a starling taking leaves onto a neighbour's roof and depositing them and them later taking them off one by one, presumably to a nest. So far we have noticed geranium, delphinium, acer and potentilla leaves disappearing so the bird is obviously going for a varied colour scheme. Anyone else come across this behaviour before?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Today we also spotted our first swallows, a full two weeks since we saw two at Buscot only thirty odd miles away. Can only assume they were the advance guard for this is much more the usual time for us to record their arrival.</p>