Pheasant in the garden

Recently we had a cock pheasant (of the ringed-necked variety) in our garden. It stayed long enough to explore and feed on the fallout from the seed dispensers. It was the first pheasant to visit the back garden since we moved into the house. At our previous house pheasants were reasonably common. One cock bird took to roosting in a conifer in our garden one winter. It would arrive each evening with a loud call as it took up it place in the branches. At the house prior to that one I went out of the front door one day and disturbed a golden pheasant that was rooting about in the shrubbery - a very unusual sight outside of an aviary or specialist collection, and one that makes the sight of a common pheasant seem even commoner.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

Hop kilns near Ledbury

What are known as oast houses in Kent are, apparently, called hop kilns in Herefordshire. The photograph above shows two hop kilns (one behind the other in this view) adjoining Kiln Cottage near Frith Wood, Ledbury. The purpose of oast houses/hop kilns was to dry the hops grown for beer-making which are then sent to the brewery. Today this is done in machines and the distinctive buildings that formerly punctuated the landscape in hop growing areas have fallen into disuse or been converted into additional living accomodation. The examples above are now picturesque parts of a cottage that may well have originally been a functional building associated with hops. The spring woodland is showing a variety of subtle colours and the prominent mistletoe ball, above the cottage's gable end, that has been revealed all winter will soon be hidden by leaves.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Whitecliff Ironworks and the Mushets

In 1810 David Mushet, a leading metallurgist, and his family moved from Derbyshire to Coleford in the Forest of Dean to try to turn the Whitecliff ironworks into a paying proposition. In this endeavour he failed, but the Mushets remained in the area and in time, through their Darkhill Ironworks, advanced the manufacture of iron and steel in ways that had a national and international impact.

On a recent walk we took in a visit to the furnace that is the principle remains of the Whitecliff works. It is in a narrow valley and is accompanied by several other stone and brick structures. We also went into Coleford to see the rather fine mural that celebrates David Mushet and his son, Robert, the "Men of Iron and Steel". 

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The Man of Ross inn

The "The Man of Ross" inn can be found at the top of Wye Street in Ross on Wye. It dates from the seventeenth century and has been extensively rebuilt and refaced. Today the Dutch gable above the main entrance carries a tribute to the man himself, John Kyrle (pronounced "curl"). This is what it says:

John Kyrle (1637-1724)
Gained Fame for His Community Involvement
His Modest Life Style and Charitable Works
He Helped Settle Disputes, Aided the Poor & Sick
Supported Schools and Left the Beautiful "Prospect" Walk
with a Fountain and Garden to the Citizens of Ross.

THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST RECORDED ATTEMPTS IN THE COUNTY
TO BEAUTIFY A TOWN FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL THE PEOPLE

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Darkhill Ironworks, Forest of Dean

David Mushet began the Darkhill Ironworks, producing iron, near Coleford in the Forest of Dean, in the year 1818. His son, Robert established another ironworks nearby. Together they worked out how to make steel cheaply in larger quantities. In 1856 Robert perfected Henry Bessemer's process for making good, cheap steel. The first tungsten steel was made in 1868 by Robert and he built the Titanic Steelworks a few hundred yards from the Darkhill site to produce it.

The remains of the Darkhill Ironworks and the Titanic Steelworks were uncovered in 1979 and made available to the public as a reminder of the pioneering work in iron and steel that is a feature of the Forest of Dean.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

An unidentified bird

Several days ago, as we were walking near the Worcestershire Beacon on the Malvern Hills, my bird watcher's eye noticed a small, all white bird, about thirty yards away. It was flying low and disappeared behind a slight ridge. I was puzzled because there are no small, white British birds other than the snow bunting, with which I am familiar, and that isn't all white. I assumed it must be an albino and changed route to try and see it again. Through the camera lens I could see it was completely white with a pinkish bill and a dark eye - not, therefore an albino proper. It was the size and general shape of a bird such as the greenfinch but its tail was longer and the outer feathers flared outwards. It also let us get closer than most wild birds of that size would allow. Perhaps it was an aviary escapee. Exhausive internet trawling turns up nothing similar. On balance I think it is an escapee but I can't pin a name to it.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Japanese quince

Japanese quince (Chaenomeles japonica) is a flowering shrub that we have grown in a few of the gardens of the houses in which we have lived. It's the sort of plant that can look great or can look a straggly mess. Ours have tended to the latter. I particularly like Japanes quince that is grown against a wall and that's something we have never done. I've also noticed that the further south you travel in England the better the plant grows, particularly if it is planted in a location that is sheltered and sunny. A setting with these qualities also make it more likely to bear fruit and gives the grower the chance to make quince jelly. This plant is growing in Herefordshire as part of a hedge that receives plenty of light and is relatively sheltered. The number of flowers it is bearing this year is remarkable.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Kingfisher, River Wye

The Covid 19 lockdowns have severely curtailed my photography in as much as I cannot travel as widely as I would like and consequently I am selecting from a narrower range of subjects. I am also taking more photographs of some subjects, particularly birds. My photographic equipment was never selected with serious bird photography in mind - I am much more of a generalist. But a couple of my cameras allow me to get reasonably close to avian subjects and the kingfishers on the River Wye have been quite accommodating recently. This male bird was performing for people passing by on a footpath only 20 metres distant. I didn't know its sex until I was prompted to find out by a member of the public who asked me if I knew it. Apparently the male's bill is all black and the female has a pinkish-orange tinge to the base of the lower mandible.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

View from Summer Hill

As we walked up Summer Hill, one of the lower hills that lead to the summit of Worcestershire Beacon in the Malvern Hills, we paused to look out over the Herefordshire landscape. From this vantage point it is a chequerboard of fields of pasture and crops, each bordered by hedgerows, with plentiful areas of woodland, all laid across undulations and ridges that stretch into the distance where, faintly, a low cloud, higher hills and mountains can be seen. Farms, rural houses, hamlets and villages can be glimpsed through the trees and the red Herefordshire soil is revealed in fields where crops have yet to grow. I took the photograph two days before the end of March and made a mental note to take a similar shot in May or June when the trees are fully in leaf.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Magnolia blossom and frost

A magnolia tree in full flower is one of the finest sights a garden can offer. This year, in our part of Herefordshire, the trees look the best we have seen them. What makes them particularly outstanding this year? It's the absence of frost. And therein lies the problem with magnolia blossom - it is, more often than not, spoiled by a frost that stains the petals brown and makes them look dead. One of our gardens had a magnolia and it was at that time that we came to understand this tree's drawbacks. There is another: the leaves are very strong, leathery, and do not easily decompose, so they have to be collected otherwise they will litter the lawn and borders for months on end. But, on balance, I like to see magnolias in bloom - as long as they are in someone else's garden.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2