Our land’s beautiful but business is encroaching

THE May monsoons put paid to my walk through the fields to the allotment.

But a bright blue sky with slow-moving white clouds tempted me back into the open air. It’s surprising how much can change in a few days.

A 20-foot length of collapsed dry stone wall has been repaired with professional skill. A joy to behold.

And a good thing too, with cows and their young calves in the next field.

Walkers die every year from attacks

KEEP CALM.. WE CAN BEAT THIS

by protective mothers. At ground level, buttercups carpet the hillside, mixed with little purple flowers whose name I don’t know. I wish I was a better botanist.

In the dip by the railway line, a solitary male mallard wanders around disconsolately. There should be a pond here, but the rain wasn’t enough to create standing water. At this rate, it will.

By the roadside, the banks of daffodils are all dead, but here and there are bluebells and some charming white flowers amid the nettles.

And it’s another vintage year for dandelions.

The broom is in full yellow bloom, but my efforts to pluck a couple of twigs for the dinner table were defeated by sharp thorns. Maybe it’s gorse. Sounds of the countryside: pheasants cackling in the woods, curlews keening out of sight.

Business is never far away. Lorries roll by with fresh spoil for an artificial hill being built by the local land exploiter.

This eyesore must cover more than an acre now. But the trudge uphill for the last hundred yards brings a lovely view of Skipton Moor and the hills beyond.

Despite the developers, this is still a green and pleasant land. For how long?