ARID ARABLE & ...

   For those of you that follow the weather forecast, you will know there is a South/East.

North/West divide in the weather patterns at the moment and for those of you that follow Dafads ramblings you will have read about the dryness of this area, the bread basket of England! Well, the way things are going here, the windmills that have appeared on various posts won't have much grain to grind the way things are going.

Returning from a hunt today for potential walking sticks from a long hedge full of blackthorn bushes I saw this farmer spraying his field. I have to say that walking with two sticks (freshly cropped) felt a bit odd and I was a bit worried that he would stop me and ask me what I was doing with two (obviously not cured) lengths of wood, but he was too busy attending to his fields. He was at least considerate enough to stop spraying as the mad mutt and I passed him, the he moved on. I guess not too many people walk Border Collies around here! Anyways I got a nod and a wave as Ffin and I walked past and the potential walking sticks have arrived safely back with me ready for curing back home. The bark is a wonderful mahogany red and I look forward to seeing what I can make of them. I am also taking home an apple wood and a Wygela to add to my collection of different wood species. 

One tree that rarely grows straight-ish wood is a Sycamore, even when young, but this tree next door is like Hyde Park Corner. The amount of birds that voice their opinion from the lofty heights of this beauty are amazing, but with the very dry weather forecast one has to wonder how much a tall tree like this needs to drink from the roots to survive the year ahead. So ... it's not just the arable acres here that will suffer, but ordinary household gardens.

I've yet to see a potential sycamore stick but who knows, maybe one day, but not from this queen of the potential desert!

The nice thing is that Dad now regularly uses one of my walking sticks instead of a zimmer frame. He's doing well blessims ... and winning the battle. Huzzar!