Fascinating!!!!!!Good afternoon all
No harvest mouse nests today; the farmers on the land we walked cut back the field margins too hard and it felt too sterile for wildlife
However, it was feeling very spring-like. Lots of birdsong and cawing rooks (a kind of large crow)
Today's pictures
Snowdrops
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An Oast House. These are a feature of Kent. You don't find them anywhere else. They were industrial buildings where hops were dried before being sent to the breweries for making beer. Most are now converted into houses.
Kent is known as the "Garden of England" - it's the heart of hop growing and fruit (mostly apples and cherries) orchards. Sadly both are in decline in recent years. We have seen many acres of both grubbed up and turned over to arable farming in the last twenty years.
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Finally, Hadlow Tower. It's a folly built by the local squire a couple of hundred years ago. Reputedly, his wife ran off with a neighbouring landowner and he built it so he could spy on the neighbour's property. He was also mad according to local legend! It's now a rather glam 1 bedroom holiday home!
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The Brits DO have their fair share of wonderful eccentrics, it seems!
