O thought I!
What a beautiful thing
God has made the winter to be
by stripping the trees
their shapes and forms.
What a freedom does it seem
to give to the storms.
Dorothy Wordsworth (1771 - 1855)
When the leaves were on the poplars and limes over the road I couldn't see the new homes being built on the far side of the burial ground. Now the trees are bare and I can see the first chalet bungalow growing, the roof is getting done - they've had to work in some really wet weather. I'm glad they only got permission for two facing onto the road rather than a small estate of nine which was the first application. There are enough new homes being built on greenspaces everywhere without building next to an historic church and graveyard. They've actually stopped building on new estates in nearby Bacton village because they can't sell the ones they have built.
I'm disappointed that the unused part of the burial ground between the trees and the new bungalow has been tidied so much. There have been people doing community payback there every Saturday morning for months. Whereas once I saw partridges, pheasants, lots of small birds and insects and even a muntjac deer in the long grass and under the trees now there is nothing. I'd love to tell them that neat and tidy isn't always good.
(Just finished a small quirky book with a good story and bits where you have to smile. 'What Hetty Did' by J.L Carr. Worth looking up . People will like it if they like quirky but others will say it's just silly. Same man wrote the more well known ' A Month in the Country')
Back Tomorrow
Sue
The work on the new build plot at the other end of our village has stopped, because they can't sell the houses. But it seems this is all part of the developer's plans - if they don't complete, they somehow escape the clause about having to put money into community infrastructure (I don't fully understand, but it all seems a bit underhand to me)
ReplyDeleteThat does seem a deceitful thing to do - typical
DeleteI agree, 'too tidy' is a menace, something I'll never be accused of!
ReplyDeletep.s: I love the poem.
DeleteThey just keep strimming until there's nothing left!
DeleteWinter shows us so much more of the areas around us, I do miss the glorious greenery of the trees, but I love a good nosy through gaps in hedges and bushes to things I haven't seen in a while.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally 'tidy' is not always good, I love the wildness that Winter can offer up for us and the safety and homes for the wildlife.
I liked it overgrown - fine to keep it tidy around the gravestones but the meadow bit was a good place for wildlife
DeleteWinter trees have a distinct beauty of their own. The starkness, without green is striking. When our Winter trees are covered with ice and snow they sparkle in the sunshine which I love. While you have homes that are not selling, we have a shortage of homes on the market. Interest rates for a home mortgage is around 7-8% where a year ago it was 2%. A year ago, people were getting $100K+ over ask and there was often a bidding war. One street over from me a large contemporary home recently went on the market for $1.2M and it sold quickly for $950K. Times are changing.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment only people who have to move are actually moving because of the high mortgage interest rates. A stagnant market isn't good for lots of people
DeleteI agree about not being too neat and tidy. Our garden seems to be visited by far more wildlife than many, especially those with excessive paving.
ReplyDeleteSo many houses have hard standing at the front of them - makes extra water run-off too - especially with all the wet weather we have been having.
DeleteIt's criminal you've lost so much wildlife. You are so right, you can have too much neat and tidy. My garden is a wildlife oasis in a desert of neat and tidy.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that we have encroached so much on wildlife homes. We have an opossum living under our porch and as long as nothing is damaged he is welcome to stay!
ReplyDeleteThere are many drawbacks to neat and tidy. Like others nothing really around me is that way.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I shall try that book and your comments on neat and tidy fields has made me feel better about our garden which is far from neat and tidy at the moment.
ReplyDeleteWell really I prefer the spring with all the green trees and green woods. But the winter is necessary too. You show us in the article, a good photograph and a lovely poesy, with the comments. Greetings from Mallorca.
ReplyDeleteManicured, perfectly green yards are somewhat of an American obsession in places. Over at Thelma's, she posted pictures of a garden with a walk way going through high vegetation on either side. I love that. It will be what I am trying to achieve once we are moved to the new house.
ReplyDeleteI find the bare trees of winter a plus and a minus. It's always fun to see where birds had built their nests and raised their young. I remember in times of summer when the birds were in abundance in a certain area and, with the trees bare, I now see why. They were raising their young there. Other trees that look plain and ordinary in the summer seem to have such character in the winter when the trees are bare. On the minus side, I hate being able to see my neighbours so close, hate seeing all the perfect lawns, or hearing the dogs bark as they can now see me new.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to spring!