STONE WALLING

Now, as you can see I mean a stone wall but also delaying tactics too. This is a boundary between farm land and commons. Not in the best state of repair, but I love it and I'm going to ask you to join me as I share with you some of my favourite parts of it ...

 this is why I refer to delaying tactics because, the we were promised three days at least of rain but we've had it heavily (and noisily) during the nights. So... to make the most of the blue and cloudy skies I took my time splodging gently along in the wet rushes with my other constant companion, my camera. The dog tried his best to attract my attention but, getting fed up, he went off exploring muddy puddles.
Now I have over the years trogged along a lot of our local walls and it is interesting to see the difference between one man's work and another's. Be it simply in the lay of the stone or, repair work done in later years.

 These weather worn old posts not only help keep the the stones in place but also provide anchorage for the later addition of metal fencing, though as  you can see, that too is in a state of rusted disrepair. The fence all along this wall is in dire need of renewal and ... I am sure that given time the son taking over from his dad will attend to the problem. But I don't want to take photo's of new shiny steel and freshly tanalised wood because I just love the oddities to be captured as it is now. Don't get me wrong but I do want to see renewal in my farming community, but I also want to capture on camera, the way it has been.

 I also love the tiny details, such as this lichen <<< on old wood, you would not find that growing on new fence posts with their modern preserving techniques. This, may not be old fashioned black and white photography, but still the images are of a time of change as the landscape evolves. One day all this may be renewed, but meanwhile this old weather worn wall with it's time decayed fence posts, holding in the stone is there to be caught on camera. Few people I know would pay so much attention to detail, but this is how it is now. I also look forward to the changes as new young enthusiasm takes over the old and regenerates this wonderful landscape.

These images will not be there for much longer, as new farming blood changes the landscape with the renewal of boundary fences to keep their flocks safe. One only has to witness the curiosity of young lambs (as seen the other day) to realise that barriers are there to be challenged and ... oft times broken. So ... my meandering, seemingly time wasting efforts to capture these details is not entirely wasted.

Already some of the photo's I took years ago show a time of change and regeneration, and ... I am glad of that because it means that this area is not dead, but alive and, at the moment thriving, all be it by the nearest of margins.

 Yes ... farmers had to make do and mend by using other folks discarded gates to provide protection for their sheep getting penned in at lambing or inoculating time, but they were truly recyclers of their age because they had to be, it kept their flocks safe and if it used a discarded garden gate, then that was good use of the old, though maybe some small doors are no longer used for the purpose of letting sheep out onto the mountain as in the years before.

but one thing never changes, our farmers keep a close eye on the weather!