June Evening - Hill Top Farm

20:30 It's a lovely warm, calm & sunny June evening - sitting in the garden overlooking Arkle Beck I'm watching the Oystercatcher, Curlew and Lapwing wheel about in the quiet dale.  Sadly there seem to be fewer & fewer Lapwing nesting in the fields around us each year.  But when we drive the track we see every day the one Lapwing chick scurrying about on the level field watched over by an anxious mother - it seems to grow by the day and we always slow down watching out for it every time we drive the track.  There were two chicks originally but I guess one was taken early on so we are willing this remaining one to make it to adolescence. 

Looking South from Hill Top Garden

It's half eight and as the sun goes down it's begining to get hazy in the depth of Arkle Beck valley but it's not yet cool enough to go in - so peaceful; just the noise of a couple of Curlews wheeling overhead and the faint background bleat of sheep in the valley bottom. We have waited so long for this lovely  weather after such a poor Spring and it's so good.

SSSI Meadow - Hill Top Farm

The SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) meadows behind the house are just beginning to blossom with the first wildflower stage where buttercups form a carpet over the whole meadow - later on other wildflowers will take over and eventually when they have seeded they will be overgrown with the long grass and my farmer neighbor will take his hay crop.  I'll keep you posted on the progress with photos.