Page 30 - Hunstanton Town & Around - August 2012

30 Hunstanton Town & Around August 2012
Cleaver Hedges
Visit Walsingham Farms Shop Joanna
and taste the best of local Norfolk produce
Farm shops at Norfolk Lavender, Heacham I was tempted to call the column ‘Wet, Wet, Wet,’ but thought you
and historic Little Walsingham...
might mistake it for a Pop Column! However wet it has been and cold!
WALSINGHAM FARMS SHOP @ NORFOLK LAVENDER There seems little prospect of it improving much for July, so by the
CALEY MILL, LYNN ROAD, HEACHAM PE31 7JE
01485 570002 time you get this you will probably all be fed up to the teeth with the
OPEN SEVEN DAYS
lack of summer.
WALSINGHAM FARMS SHOP @ WALSINGHAM Can I see any positives in the weather? It’s difficult but the trees and
GUILD STREET, WALSINGHAM NR22 6BU
01328 821877 flowers seem to be thriving on the wet, in previous years the big trees
OPEN TUESDAY-SUNDAY AND BANK HOLIDAYS, DAILY IN AUGUST
have been showing some signs of stress with dying leaves or early
...and enjoy fresh locally sourced autumn colours. This year even the shallow rooted Beeches look to be
Norfolk fare at our restaurants doing well. The verges and hedges are also flourishing, hence the title,
I don’t remember seeing the Cleavers or Goose Grass growing so high
THE LAVENDER KITCHEN up the hedges. The barbs, which help it climb and sprawl, are helping
@ NORFOLK LAVENDER
CALEY MILL, HEACHAM PE31 7JE it to vertically climb many of the hedges and so densely is it growing
01485 571965
CAFE-RESTAURANT OPEN DAILY FROM 8AM that the hedges do look as if they are ‘Cleaver Hedges’. The field edges
FARMHOUSE BREAKFASTS, CREAM TEAS,
SUPPER EVENINGS, SUNDAY ROASTS which have been sown with seed/insect flowers are in brilliant flower,
GROUPS, PARTIES & EVENT BOOKINGS WELCOME along the Thornham – Choosely road there is the brightest slash of red
THE NORFOLK RIDDLE you could ever image, the poppy seeds are so densely sown that there
2 WELLS ROAD, WALSINGHAM NR22 6DJ is little room between flower heads, along side there are purple patches
01328 821903
FRESH LOCAL FARE, GAME IN SEASON of Phacelia. It’s described in the flower books as being a native of west
‘PLAT DU JOUR’ LUNCH MENU, FROM £10.00
FISH & CHIP SHOP OPEN SEVEN DAYS North America and is good for bees and as a green manure. So the
RESTAURANT WED-SUN, DAILY IN AUGUST
farmers can encourage the bees and then plough in the plants to help
WWW.WALSINGHAMFARMSSHOP.CO.UK in fertilising the soil, good thinking! I have also spotted lots of Yarrow,
Wild Mignonette, Weld and White Mignonette also the tall yellow
spikes of Aarons Rod. Have you noticed the branched version of the
Rod on the roadside by the Lamsey Lane junction, on the Lynn road,
I think that is Hoary Mullein, the Aarons Rod being Great Mullein?
Incidentally they are from the Verbascum family and I have several
beautiful Verbascum in my garden, interesting plant breeding as they
are perennial and I think many of the wild ones are biennials.
On the bird front the Blackbirds seem to be thriving with the wet
weather, my garden is hosting yet another new brood. I seem to have
at least 6 different broods around plus parents. The adult males are
looking very tatty and at least two of them are virtually tailless and
look very odd as they fly in and out of the garden. I’ve mentioned the
young birds using the garden as a play area, well now it has become a
Lido! Given some sunshine the Blackbirds spread themselves across
the gravel and sunbathe! It’s a way of moving parasites from their
feathers, but it looks so funny as they twist themselves into awkward
positions, a bit like sun bathing girls wanting to get that particular spot
tanned. Also the water bath becomes a swimming pool. I also seem to
have a new brood of Robins around, all spotty and cocky as they flit
from bush to bush. There is the odd young Woodpigeon and Collared
Dove gracing the garage roof, they seem to be watching the warring
factions battling for mating honours amongst their elders. Not the best
behaviour to show your young you would think, however I suppose
they all have to learn some how.
I had a fantastic very early morning visit to Titchwell, 5am and I had
the place all to myself, as my Mum would have said, it was ‘bliss with
sugar on’. There were lots of birds around, good views of young
Bearded Tits, a fly past by a Bittern, a quarrelsome group of
Blacktailed Godwits very close to Island Hide, some still in breeding
brick red, several sleepy Little Gulls on one of the spits, the noisy
Avocets flying backwards and forwards and then in a flurry of wings
a very near Spotted Redshank, almost to close for binoculars. I have
always said I preferred the Spot Reds in their subtle winter greys, but
I must admit that this elegant lady nearly converted me. I think I am
fairly safe in saying ‘lady’ as the Spot Reds are like the Dotterel and
Phalaropes in that the females lay the eggs and then the males tend the
young, even in some cases doing the last incubation stints. The females
leave the breeding grounds, in the far north, as early as June. Back to
Tel: 01485 533422 email: editor@hunstantonnewsletter.co.uk