Silent night

The tawny owl has been calling most nights – it woke me at 4.20am a day or two ago! – but all has been quiet over Christmas.

Christmas decorations

We went for a cycle ride on Christmas afternoon, in lovely sunshine, and spotted a pair of bullfinches, yellowhammers, pied wagtails, long tailed tits, fieldfares – a colourful decorative display.

Books for Christmas

Nothing beats a good book (well, preferably two or three) at Christmas – here are a few of the best titles I’ve read this year with environmental, landscape and wildlife themes. All are beautifully crafted pieces of work and reflect habitats as varied as woodlands, rivers, meadows, mountains and seashores. They all, in their own way, examine ‘spirit of place’ – the idea that a locality (whatever its status or story) can possess a personality – Kineton, for example, makes me think of blue lias, Hornton stone, old osier beds, springtime cherry blossom and the annual exodus of baby toads that march across our garden!
So, in no particular order:
1. Wildwood: A Journey Through Trees by Roger Deakin – This year I finally got round to reading this famous eulogy to all things woodland, first published back in 2007. It’s probably best just to quote from a few national reviews – “A masterpiece”, “Among the best ever”, “Enchanting”… with even Will Self (ugh!) admitting it was “Enthralling”. Read it!
2. Silt Road: The Story of a Lost River by Charles Rangeley-Wilson – The story of a lost tributary of the Thames (in deepest High Wycombe!) that combines the melancholy of landscape writing with vivid insights into bygone ways of life. The author’s research and his quest for today’s river, now culverted beneath the streets, takes him as far afield as Tasmania!
3. Strands: A Year of Discoveries on the Beach by Jean Sprackland – The author spent a year beachcombing on the flat expanses of sand a few miles north of Liverpool and presents a lyrical tribute to the cast-offs washed up by the sea, including various marine wildlife such as sea potatoes, lugworms and mermaid’s purses. It’s a book that reinforces the idea that we can connect (or reconnect) with any type of landscape, wherever it might be. And the bit about Mesolithic footprints, now being revealed by the natural processes of erosion, will probably leave a great impression (if you don’t mind the pun). Brilliant.
4. The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot by Robert Macfarlane – Tracking a number of ancient routes, including one by sea and a couple overseas, the author paints a picture that reveals how travellers have influenced and been influenced by the landscapes and cultures they have passed through. His third bestseller – you could almost call him both a poet and a naturalist – and, just like Jean Stickland, he ends up searching for the remarkable ancient footprints that were planted in the mud near Formby more than 5,000 years ago.
I’ve borrowed all four titles from local libraries… hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
Roger

Barwood and Bloor – consultation meeting- Southam Road housing

Attended the consultation meeting held by Bloor Homes at The Swan earlier this evening and there seemed to be a reasonable throughput of local people. Barwood – surprise, surprise – have now sold the housing site on (to Bloor Homes) and the latest plans, drafted to indicate reserved matters re: landscaping, house styles, etc, were on show.

The general layout seems to have changed very little but they had deliberately not shown the wider masterplan which would have included the open space, allotments, wildlife areas and the proposed commercial/employment units. When pressed on this their reps alarmingly explained these areas were “up for review” and were still owned by Barwood (Bloor have simply aquired the area allocated for housing at outline planning stage). No doubt Barwood will sell the commercial area to another developer and, having made their killing, will then negotiate with a sit-on-the-fence District Council for revised, watered-down plans for the open space and landscape.

Or maybe push for additional development? It seemed bizarre that a full masterplan could not be presented to the village tonight – one that shows the context and relationship of proposed housing to proposed landscape and wildlife, regardless of the fact that the site now has two owner/developers… but note they are both using the same planning consultants, who surely could have banged heads together to ensure we were presented with the latest thinking for the whole site?

Oh, I nearly forgot – the proposed architectural elevations could have come from an estate in Birmingham or Brighton. Why do they insist on telling us that the development will be carefully designed to reflect Kineton’s built heritage?

Through the window

Just watching five long tailed tits and a wren all flitting around outside the window. The long tails are busy visiting a fat block – we had an amazing group of fourteen on Christmas morning a few years back. Now they are back around the garden after their “summer recess” and I will expect to see some most days during the winter. Their energetic silhouettes are often spotted at dusk as they fly and bounce from one tree to another.

Who’s been canoodling with yew?

A couple of days ago Rowan and I watched a cluster of goldcrests in one of the big yew trees by the road at Compton Verney. As usual at this time of year they were busy canoodling with each other and often hung and swung upsidedown as they pecked around the branches and the juicy red berries in search of winter morsels to eat . Their high pitched chattering told us they were about and yew trees are always one of the best places to see them, though I’ve never seen one yet in the village. They must, at least occasionally, visit the big yews in the churchyard. They only weigh around six grams (they are our smallest bird) but can lay up to twelve eggs – which weigh almost double the female’s body weight!