Spring showers

Wednesday 29th February

Molly enjoying her private pond

I had wondered why Molly wasn't drinking much from the bucket of water that I provided for her at the top of the paddock.  Rainwater tastes much better and she's making the most of this natural dewpond while it lasts.
     The Rectory glebe is a project in progress.  Glebeland used to provide rectors with what they needed for a bit of subsistence farming, hence the expression "a good Living".  The Rector of Bellingham used to have the glebeland all the way along the river North Tyne from the church to the Rectory and there is an old post
card of cattle grazing on it.  Now there's only about one steeply sloping acre, not enought to keep a horse on permanently but adequate for turning out a stabled horse who gets reasonable exercise.
     I managed to produce this little paddock by having the deep bog professionally drained and then watching the water gushing from the ditches into the river for several months.  The field was then seeded and I have spent two years picking up not only the horse droppings but also the rocks and stones.
     Wild flowers are beginning to emerge, including bog species.  So the next part of the project is to photograph them all and provide an information board for all the people who walk along the public footpath through the glebe paddock beside the river.
     Any help with identification, photography and signboards would be gratefully received.