These were the dramatic, dark grey, "sun" setting skies the last day of August ...
farmers were out on the mountain gathering the last unshorn stray sheep and didn't finish until almost dark. Despite the dark skies, there was no rain, just a dull end to the day.
So, things didn't look too good for the intrepid Three Churches Walk for today ... but ... this morning the skies were sun-full and bright with a stiff breeze herding the clouds up above.
The last church on the walk was St Iltyds, set up all ready for rewarding cream teas and lots of "eat me" cakes as a reward for all those who had tramped up from St Marks via Christchurch to the oldest of them all. It turned out they were not the only group out walking today and 16 walkers turned up out of the blue and were delighted to see inside this lovely old building. Sadly they were too early, the ladies with the cakes had not turned up yet but they sat outside in the sun and enjoyed just sitting in the churchyard for their own packed lunches before they set off again they were heading off to visit the Six Bells memorial statue.
The churchyard is going through it's annual "big cut" or ... hay making without bales.
As it is nominated as a wildlife conservation area, apart from the paths, the large variety of grasses are allowed to grow naturally throughout the year and the whole area is well seeded with various native flowering plants that provide food for various insects, butterflies and moths throughout the growing season. To watch the swifts, swallows and bats fly low above the tall, breeze bending grass heads is a really lovely evening sight. But the big cut has to be done and ... all the strimmed grass removed off site in order not to enrich the ground, which all helps the native plants nutrient poor soil to help them thrive.
The swallows and swifts are starting to gather on the overhead telephone wires, a sure sign that they are contemplating leaving us to over winter in a warmer African climate.
Some areas are left, especially those with the late mallow and field scabious still flowering so that there is still a source of interest for late butterflies, bees and other interested insects to forage from. It has been a bad year for all these species of flora and fauna.
But ... for today at least the humans were making the most of this lovely sunny start to September and across the valleys, farmers were busily trying to get the last of the hay baled. Some of the recently gathered mountain ewes still need to be sheared and as for the rams ... ? Well we are just over a month away from the big October ram sales ...
so they are getting extra feed to build them up and bring a sheen to their fleece because ...
come late October they will be fathers of next years generation, whichever farm they end up on. Welsh Mountain and Texel genes will keep the flocks of the future continuing on.
And ... the slowly decaying stump of this ancient tree, protects a new generation of yew!
And in that stump I can see a face ... can you see it too?
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