Meadow Cam - Capturing Video Footage of our Visitors!

The Meadow has seen a rare visitor over the past few days. Definitely someone we were very excited about finally seeing. (Yes really!). We have suspected for some time that there has been an Otter making use of the Meadow, the lakes and the river and just recently we caught some tail end stills of him on the Meadow Stills Cam. However our video captured last night confirms the sightings and we are pleased to announce that we can now add Mr Otter (Or indeed Mrs/Ms) to our growing list of visitors and inhabitants.

 

 

Wild Cam - The first shots!

The meadow has seen the introduction of a wild camera to try and document the sorts of inhabitants that show their faces when we aren't around.

This evening we found that we had indeed had a visitor. Two in fact! An adult fox appeared at 7:39AM and obviously heard the minimal click of the camera because there's that deer in the headlights type of pose!

Later this same morning a younger fox appeared, probably one of the cubs that have been rolling around in the Meadow since the Summer. Again they seem quite aware that the camera is there but hopefully not too bothered by it. Over the coming weeks we will (fingers crossed) have more wild cam shots to share with you.

The Meadow - Ending October

The atmosphere on the meadow is still peaceful and very quiet. Some parts of the meadow are locked in the vibrance of summer with green leaves contrasting strongly against a blue sky, other parts are a sign of the times with beautiful deep reds of Autumn. 

It's that time of year again when everything changes, colours are richer and deeper and the growth that took place over Spring and Summer starts to reduce. The Meadow is still vibrant in this late Sun that we are getting but the leaves are turning and there's no escaping the rather empty trees and surrounding bushes.

The hidden lake is showing signs of rising with the small amounts of rainfall that we have had over the past few weeks, but there is not nearly as much foliage and leaves dredging up the water as there were last year. Perhaps a few more weeks are needed!

Over the past few weeks I've spent some time just sitting and enjoying the surroundings. It's a haven that's for sure and being able to sit and enjoy the fresh air and beautiful colours is like being able to spend a few minutes in paradise!

The Dog Thinks So Too!

It has been a while since I updated the blog! But there's lots to share with the most recent and frequent visitors to the Meadow being a family of Deer. We have also been fortunate enough to not only see them on the Meadow but also capture them on camera. Over the past few weeks with both summer sunshine and rain the Meadow has grown up and overtaken us in terms of height and inhabitants. It's hard to keep track of all the changes occurring!


The Deer shown here is the female, however we have seen the male and know that there was a younger female too. The Doe first showed up at the Meadow very heavily pregnant! This summer the family have thrived in the quiet secluded grasses.




As well as the Deer the Herons have returned for the Summer and are slowly making their presence known in and around the Meadow. Quite often a group of them lift in flight when we arrive and in the adjacent field they sit serenely in a huddle before taking off and landing (inelegantly) on rather precarious tree branches!

 The plant population has thrived in the past few weeks. Rain has meant that all sorts of species have been able to grow and quite frankly shoot to great heights! The trees that were planted last summer have again thrived this year and the brush around the land attracts the most colorful of butterflies.
The most recent change to the outlook of the land at the Meadow has been the new tracks that have been mown through to create easy walking paths. These making it just a little bit easier to navigate through the long grasses, thistles and stinging nettles that no doubt would be kept down by the cows that roam the neighboring fields. Nevertheless last year we saw the damage that cows were capable of when they 'accidentally' let loose on our Meadow and we would have to sacrifice the unusual wildlife presence in the name of shorter grasses. Something that we're not keen to do! So the mown tracks are a subtle but useful presence throughout.

The Bees have returned after their summer vacation. They were relocated to a different area for some time after complaints from the local fisherman called for action to be taken. Unfortunately they were getting stung at the bordering River however we suspect that the Fishermen had been deliberately causing trouble. The presence of the Bees is often something we fail to notice but their small hive in the center of the long grasses doesn't look out of place.

One Day in June

The Meadow is growing up faster than we can capture it on camera. Everyday something new appears either in the form of animal or plant, and the secrets we are unearthing are beautiful. To date there have been twenty different orchids discovered, and in the most unusual places. One is located right by the Shepherds hut - it's definitely done well to survive the trampling! In the Meadows world it is still spring and there are babies everywhere. Swans, Moorhens, Ducklings, Voles and Baby Toads to name but a few.

When we attempted to check under some railway sleepers (from an original railway that used to run alongside the meadow years ago) we scattered a family of baby voles. Luckily they were able to be scooped up and tipped back into their nest. Beautiful little animals!

Under the same sleepy was a rather sluggish and grumpy baby toad. The reptillian body of these animals is incredible up close. The bright orange of they eyes also surprised me, such a strong colour and such a stark contrast to the almost invisible toad who blended in well with the muddy surroundings we found it in. Despite the interuption, the Toad seemed very much into having his photograph taken! We've often seen frogs on the meadow, and at certain times of year the grass is full of them, however Toads seem to be a much rarer occurence.

The orchids offer a very bold statement to the green of the meadow, standing out brightly in the long grasses yet hidden just enough to preserve them from a prying eye. These beauties are cropping up all over the place. Between the purple and the yellow of the lilies flowering over the lake there is a definite array of colour starting to grow across the land.

At the end of a busy day, with a little warmth from the sun and some beautiful surroundings, it is possible to forget stresses and worries and just enjoy the atmosphere. It was made even more perfect this evening with the gentle tapping of a Woodpecker in the trees above the small lake.

Making Honey Whilst the Sun Shines!

It has been a very long time since any form of update occurred here! There is lots to show and indeed tell, about the meadow and the changes that have occurred in the more recent months.

Henry, a local beekeeper, brought down one of his hives of Honey Bees to settle on the Meadow with the hopes that they would build their home there. After some weeks he brought a second hive, complete with a colony, and since then they have only thrived in the tranquil environment.
 With recent sightings of Kingfishers, Deer, Foxes and Barn Owls it has been nice to get to know the insect population a little more intimately. The new hives especially transform the landscape of the meadow.

They provide something cultivated and different. Not only do we have a haven of natural beauty, frequented by some rarely seen species of both animal and plant, but we also now have something new being created by the wonders of nature at work. Unfortunately however, bees will be bees! These hives are going to be relocated temporarily to give the neighbouring fishermen some respite from being stung.


Watching a beekeeper at work is fasincating.
They do not own the Bees in the hives, they merely do exactly as the name suggests and  Keep them until the Bees decide otherwise. A Keeper cannot control them nor their movements. Maintaining the beehives is one of the most important parts of their jobs whether they are keeping Bees for a hobby or for commercial purposes. Removing dead insects, mice, other animals and checking for disease is vital to ensuring that the cycle is able to continue without threat. The protective suits are a must, as I found out the other day! Although they are well structured nothing can really prepare you for a swarm of angry honey bees.

Indeed, once a Bee has stung the suit, the venom released will send out an alarm attracting other Bees, and so until you are completely free of them, they won't leave you alone!

Bee Keepers can keep up to around 50,000 colonies. The typical structure of any one of these colonies is made up for three specific status of Bee. A colony consist of three castes of Bee....A Queen Bee, a large number of female worker Bees and a number of male drones.

Henry regularly tends to them and just a few short weeks ago we were presented with our first batch of Meadow Honey. Unlike refined Honey found in shops, it's the real deal - a proper honeycomb! Collecting honey is typically achieved by using smoke from a bee smoker to pacify the bees; this causes the bees to attempt to save the resources of the hive from a possible forest fire, and makes them far less aggressive. The honecomb is removed from the hive and the honey is extracted from that, often using a honey extractor.

Having something earthy and new, as a biproduct of owning the Meadow is both invigorating and amazing. This popular item, both in herbal remedies and cooking, was made practically in the air around one of the most peaceful places in this village. Incredible! There will be more updates soon, especially focusing on our animal visitors, nesting KingFishers and the arrival of our very own Shepherds Hut...

Autumn Meadow

We've had the delight of seeing the Meadow in full bloom during the Summer months but now we have the equal delight of seeing the seasons take their toll and the new perspectives that Autumn has to offer. My parents spent some time clearing the smaller lake and as a result the sunshine that comes through in the early afternoon really lends itself to some beautiful hidden lights and reflections.

The new views have made it easier to see the things that were often missed in the Summer. Birds nests that we didn't know existed are low down in the trees on eye-level. And the Church in the distance has just started to become visible as the trees give way to the november frosts.

The leaves are almost completely gone now.

The Trees have parted to offer a small glimpse of the church in the middle distance

Dawson Meadow Update

It has been a while since the last (and first) update - but as the weather has improved again there has been more chance to get down to the meadow and start working on different bits of it. We had our first intrusion a few days ago - I was driving home and had a quick glance in and noticed a dozen or so cows chomping away at the grass and plodding through the fields. I returned with my parents, determined to prove I wasn't seeing things - and yep! There they were, 12 heifers! We managed to track down the farmer and apparently they'd let themselves into the meadow, closed the gate behind them, and wired up the other entrance! I tell you, these cows are amazing. I'm surprised someone hasn't snapped them up for research purposes yet!
Anyway, I didn't manage to get a shot this time. But it was fun seeing twelve huge cows follow a man back down the meadow and into their own field - quite daunting too!

But actually, cows are big softies. And indeed you will see in the shot below (taken yesterday) that they share their field with a very shy species. Pictured here are about 7 out of 12 Herons that sit in the field with the cows. Unfortunatly this was shot at a distance, but you can still make them out. When they take off together it is an amazing sight. Those of you who live in the UK will know that Herons are very rare, majestic birds.

Everytime we're down on the land we can bargain on at least one sighting of these fantastic birds. To see a group together like this is just amazing. The wing span on them is incredible and seeing them attempt to balance on tree branches far too small for their weight is hilarious! It's also quite amazing to see them land and rest in fields that are full of huge cows - I'm waiting for the day when I manage to capture a shot of one of them balanced on a cows back!



My parents purchased a very small tractor, to attempt to give some defined paths to the land making it easier to get from one side to another. It did well - for the start, and my Dad managed to mow a good way down the first strip of land. However it soon packed in and refused to do anymore. Since then we've managed to get a four by four down into the deepest part of the meadow, which helps for getting tools to the lakes to start clearing.

 I managed to be up early enough to catch a misty sunrise the other day. I was driving back from work and decided to run in and grab my camera before heading back down to the meadow. When I got there I wasn't disappointed. The mist, early morning dew and rising sun coupled together to make a fantastic setting. Unfortunatly my camera wasn't responding well to the conditions - nevertheless I did get something.

Getting back today - My parents began clearing the brambles and brush from around a natural spring lake that they discovered. It's a fairly deep lake - very clear when the sun manages to fight its way through, and the dog has just begun exploring it too. Anyway there are a couple of pictures of the progress of the day. We had a small bonfire and managed to clear alot of the banks, making it much easier to walk around the water.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. The indian summer throughout september that they promised would happen is actually here! Autumn is arriving though, slowly. There are lots of trees in and around the area, and they offer different perspectives and certainly different views over the lakes and so on. And they are still green! So I took advantage of some green sunny shots this afternoon. There's alot to see on the ground  but also looking up through the trees offers a fantastic perspective and some great depth.

    So - to summarise the latest happenings, we've had visiting cows, more sightings of the beautiful Kingfisher (although no camera captures yet!) and some interesting developments with tractor and small lake area. The dog is still loving exploring just as much as usual, and is starting to test the boundaries of the area just a little. She was most bemused by facing the cows though, and when they come to the gate she steers very firmly clear of them!

The Dawson Meadow

The Meadow is a haven of approximately four acres which (unbelievably) is nestled down in a valley just tuckedaway from a busy dual carriageway. Thousands of commuters pass the surrounding land everyday and few know the delights of the stretching water meadow within their grasps. The land is owned by my parents and is bordered on either side by further meadow and field. Running down one side is a beautiful river and although it belongs to somebody else it's wonderful to sit and look at and enjoy the sound of running water.

The greens of the grass coupled with early morning dew make for some beautiful contrasts in photography. Aswell as this, once the rain has fallen the meadow lies undisturbed and the drops of water remain in situe until something comes along to disturb them. Because of this beautiful yet slightly damp grass, many animals and insects are able to thrive, and indeed we've already come across some of them. Baby frogs and spiders in their hundreds are very common amongst the grasses. 

Aswell as interesting flowers and animals the Meadow has a fine array of blackberries to offer. Because it’s set away from the road, and away from the majority of  birds, the blackberries are left alone to grow and thrive. They offer a lovely contrast to the greens and browns of the surrounding foliage. In addition to blackberries - the meadow has another culinary delight to offer. Walking through the central grasses we’ve found the delightful smell of mint and have unearthed a large amount of meadow mint which my mother hopes to eventually make into mint sauce as gifts for family and friends. 

The dog loves it - she knows that it belongs to my family through some sort of sense and she just roams around it for however long we're down there. On walks in public places she tends to stick close - at the meadow she's off! There are two lakes there, both with lovely water and she spends half of her time sat in them. We’ve all agreed that she’s never looked happier than on the days that she spends exploring the corner of England that my parents have taken on board. 

The area that the Meadow is located in is a very quiet and small village. There is a local pub and that's about it! But further down towards the east of the land is a meadow that's currently used to graze cows. It offers an extensive view of countryside from the gate on our side, and that place is very much my Mother's favourite spot. Sitting and just listening to the sounds of the countryside punctuated nicely with the melody of churchbells is the perfect way to spend a weekend afternoon.  

Whilst it's lovely to be able to capture the views and the nature that's on offer in this magical place - it's also important to step back from the camera and view the world with clear eyes. Indeed there is plenty to see that I've not yet been able to capture, and neither has my Father. Aswell as the images we've managed to get so far, there are plenty of animals that have been seen but unfortunatly not conveyed to the lens. 

 To date there have been sightings of Deer, Kingfisher, Heron, Fox and even word of mouth indicators that there is an otter on the river. In addition to the visuals, the sounds of the meadow are calming and offer one of the best natural soundtracks that exist.