“Imagine a Cornwall where nature thrives, with our wildlife and wild places valued and enjoyed by all…where healthy oceans, soils, rivers, wetlands, woodlands, moors, grasslands, sand dunes and other ecosystems are valued for the vital role they play. Where every child in Cornwall grows up with access to clean beaches and green spaces…”
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All sorts of events on both the world and domestic front were staged this month. There was COP 29, COP 16, the March for Clean Water and the much talked about budget from our government to name a few. How much was achieved?, COP 29 was held in Azerbaijan, which like the previous host UAE has an economy which is built on oil and gas exports.
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The first day of the month walking in Tremayne woods – a local walk close to us – Autumn had arrived overnight, a crisp morning with a cold blue sky and racing pink clouds.
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We had some spectacular storms during mid September, violet grey skies and orange flashes from sheet lightening and thunder claps louder than I have heard since being here. It was a month of unsettled weather, vast quantities of rain with all the usual fallout from such weather: floods, travel disruptions and power outages.
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Exciting news for us this month – a beautiful, White Barn Owl is once again resident in our barn. Is it the old one returned, or a completely new bird? How are we ever going to tell? The original Owl has not been sighted for 18 months or more and, neither has there been any sightings of fresh droppings piling up in the barn. (The one advantage of its disappearance).
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I spoke about the continual presence of Buzzards in the June blog – well, it continued on into this month on a daily basis, no matter the weather. On one early evening I counted 16 of them flying above me and the house. I have never seen or heard that many before, possibly a field had been ploughed somewhere in the vicinity and they were watching for food, or it was family groups gathering together with their young, which can happen, according to the RSPB.
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We were lulled into false dreams of hot, sunny days after May’s sweet offerings but alas June was colder than average and all the fruit and vegetables suffered, as did the humans. Last year, in complete contrast, the same month was the hottest June since records began at some time in the late 1800s. A few hot spells arrived towards the end of the month, interwoven with many brief and scattered showers.
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This is the month when we all fall in love with Cornwall again and forgive it for the weeks and weeks of rain soaked dog walks in the howling winds. We still got plenty of that during this May but we also got the lush, verdant, energetic chaos of plants bursting out of the ground and racing for some space in which to grow and thrive. The month sings of life and colour and hope.
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April continued the general theme of the previous months – unsettled, wet and dull weather. The Easter holidays were a washout, but when the school children returned to their classrooms, the weather improved and the last 2 weeks gave us warmer and sunnier days.
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Still the rains continue to fall. The land was already saturated from a wet start to the year and March continued in the same vein by bringing double the, average rainfall to Cornwall. And the sun never really showed up.
‘Pansies, lilies, kingcups, daisies,
Let them live upon their praises,
There’s a flower that shall be mine-
‘Tis the little celandine.’
When Storm Jocelyn hit our shores this month, we gained a new landmark in UK history – it was the 10th named storm in 5 months, the earliest moment in a year in which that number has been reached, since its introduction in 2015.
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Winter showed its true colours for a moment at the start of the month, surprising us with hard frosts. The car doors became frozen, unable to open, and fingers aching from cold. Minus 4.7 up the road at Culdrose, not quite the minus 12.5 experienced in Sutherland but cold enough to warrant getting out my old fashined hand warmers, (lit charcoal sticks in a metal case, still sold up in Scotland).
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Two exciting moments came in this month; firstly the sightings of a large White Barn Owl in our field and secondly the arrival of Fungi in the shape of Chanterelles (I think) and Heath Waxcaps.
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The warmth stayed with us for the first half of the month with temperatures in the low twenties across England. We harvested baskets and boxes of Squash, Corn, Apples and Medlars, alongside the continual pickings of Chard and Spinach.
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