Police court life
A Malton boy, aged seven, pleaded guilty to stealing a purse containing five £1 treasury notes and other coins from a young lady’s coat while it was hanging in the shop of Messrs Taylor and Rowntree, Wheelgate, malton. The boy stated that he gave two of the notes to a lad who was a friend and another boy he did not know. The parents of all the children attributed their children’s lapse to getting into bad company at a picture hall. Alderman Metcalfe said that people in shops should not change large sums of money in payment for sweets by children. Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you enjoyed a wonderful peaceful Christmas. It may be officially winter, but already there are many signs of forthcoming spring. The spell of mild weather before Christmas certainly boosted bird-song and bulbs.
Whether you’ve walked, or travelled across the countryside by care during December, you must have observed the countless eruptions of mole-hills in meadows and along grassed roadside verges. Their earthworks can be monumental for such a small animal. Though the mole itself is seldom seen, you’ve probably found an exit hole from the top of the mound. Directly below each conical mound is a vertical tunnel leading up from horizontal tiers of burrows through which the mole forces loose soil excavated during the creation of his permanent tunnel system.
The burrows are traps for worms that fall into them, and are regularly collected by patrolling moles.
During cold weather, heavy rainfall, or very dry weather, earthworms tend to go deeper, and the mole follows to track them. Deeper tunnels create more obvious mole-hills, and you should take advantage of the fine, crumbly soil. This make an excellent potting compost.
Early flowering plants are already well ahead this. Gorse bushes are aglow with golden blooms, and for some time we’ve observed not only bulbs emerging, but many dandelions and daisies in full bloom. Winter heliotrope, growing beside ditches and other damp places, are usually noted around December 10. This year many more were discovered much earlier. Should we consider them the last wild flower of the year, or the first for the new year? Celandines have likewise surprised us by their early appearance, flaunting patches of glossy golden flowers on sunny roadside verges.
Scarcely had autumn harvests been gathered,than farmers had fields ploughed and seeds sown! It’s a hard life for farmers, toiling during such unfavourable conditions. Now the ploughed fields are green with winter barley shoots and rape.
Pigeons have been observed gorging themselves on those blackberries that developed from the globular heads of greenish-yellow flowers last autumn.
Filey’s Country Park is always worth a visit to view waders feeding on the turf. During our brief visit, a large flock of oystercatchers probed the earth with large, heavy orange bills for earthworms. They also tackle mussels, cockles and ragworms along the coastal beaches.
A couple of redshank joined them on the wet meadow, walking with rhythmical even-paced steps, with steady pecks at any creatures in the mud. It’s often called, ‘Sentinel of the Marshes’. What an apt title for this widespread, noisy wader which is very wary as it flies off yelling a warning to other birds.
Gardens are now flamboyant with polyanthus and primulas to brighten dull days. Cut off all dead leaves and flowers, and they’ll provide colour for a long, long time.