There is something so paradoxical about this period of harvest. At Sun Rising, to some, the wildflowers might now look tatty, going to seed, without the colours of early summer, but in other ways their heavy load of dark seed is so precious. Long grasses may look messy in our gardens, but at the nature reserve the wild grasses, now dry and golden, picking up the slightest movement of the breeze, are a beautiful expression of the natural world. As the combine harvesters rumble through the fields of wheat and barley, we too have been cutting, mowing the meadows and strimming down the year’s growth. Some of the hay has been strewn over new graves, helping the gentle processes of spreading the seeds. So, though we may feel a sorrow as the summer comes to its end, there is beauty too, in areas now cut short and tidy, in the first turning of the young saplings’ leaves, the guelder rose turning burgundy red, the bramble berries full of promise.
Mowing is always a wonderful time for the community of Sun Rising too, when volunteers come and help with the raking, many of whom have loved ones laid to rest beneath the grasses and knapweed, the teasels and clover. This year we had a lovely crowd once again, not just bringing muscles and determination, but respect, love and care, not to forget the exquisite chocolate brownies. Thank you to each and every one.
The photo here (with thanks to Eric Lown) is taken towards the end of the day when the main wildflower meadows are all done.
After the Haycut
The last burial areas, the war memorial, the pond and around the hedges, will continue to be cut over the coming month.
