Underneath the spreading chestnut tree . . .

 

Underneath the spreading chestnut tree . . .

. . . there are thousands of spent catkins. They are about thirteen centimetres (five inches) long and carpet the woodland floor.

 Sweet chestnut sapling

The sweet chestnut tree (Castanea sativa) has grown in the UK for so many centuries that it is regarded as native, but it hails from southern Europe and Asia Minor. It was once thought to have been introduced by the Romans, but scientific methods have suggested that it was introduced much later. The first confirmed planting dates from around 1640 AD, though some ancient specimens probably existed in Tudor or Stuart periods.

It is believed to have survived the last Ice Age, approximately 115,000 to 11,700 years ago in southern Europe.

 It is a long-lived deciduous tree, attaining several hundred years and growing to heights approaching thirty-five metres with a girth of two metres. Some ancient examples are over two thousand years old, but most should be able to survive for around seven hundred years.

It belongs in the Fagaceae family alongside oaks and beeches.

As a young tree, its bark is smooth and greyish, but as it ages, it develops fissures which spiral upwards around the trunk. At about twenty-five years of age, it begins to produce fruit, shiny brown soft-shelled nuts enclosed in spiky, green cases.

The dried remnants of the catkin hang below the prickly casing of the chestnut.

The sweet chestnut is monoecious, meaning that it bears male and female flowers on the same tree. The strongly-scented catkins are mostly male flowers, with insignificant female flowers at the base. After they have been pollinated by insects, including blowflies, house flies, beetles and bees, the female flowers develop the fruits.

In late summer or early autumn, the woodland floor is littered with the ripe chestnuts, mostly all still within their prickly cases.

The wood of the sweet chestnut is similar to oak but easier to work with. The trees were extensively planted in Kent to be used in producing hop poles, because their wood was strong and rot-resistant. The hop industry has declined, although Kent is still the main hop-growing region in the country, but the wood is still used for fencing and stakes.

Strangely, although I was brought up in Kent, I don’t recall sweet chestnut trees being prominent in the landscape. They are much more prevalent where I now live, in Berkshire.

County flags – Berkshire

 

County flags – Berkshire

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

The Berkshire flag was registered with the Flag Institute in March 2017. It is the flag of the historic county. It shows a stag standing under an oak tree, both of which are traditional symbols of Berkshire and date back to at least 1627.

In that year, Michael Drayton (1563-1631), who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare, wrote a poem, ‘The Bataille of Agincourt.’ Agincourt was fought in 1415, and Drayton described the men of Berkshire marching in that battle under the symbol of ‘a Stag, under an Oake that stood.’

The stag shown is a red deer bearing twelve-point antlers, which marks it as a ‘Royal’, thus evoking the shire’s title as the Royal County of Berkshire, and also alluding to the deer herds to be found.  The oak tree bears reference to its wonderful forests.

 Berkshire has had historic ties to royalty since the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror began building Windsor Castle in 1070 and it was completed in 1086. The county was always known informally as Royal Berkshire but was designated ‘Royal County’ in 1958. It is the only royal county in the United Kingdom.

Berkshire County Council was abolished in 1998. The county remains as a ceremonial county, no longer administered as a single entity, but divided into six unitary authorities.

 

A visit to the vet

 

A visit to the vet

On Thursday, Gilbert was 10 weeks old and ready for his next vaccinations.

He wasn’t very happy in the car. The last time he was in a car he had a long journey from Shropshire to Berkshire but this time it was a five minute drive to our vet, not long  enough to unsettle his stomach!

               

Vet Patrycja greeted us at the car and carried Gilbert in to the consulting room. She had seen the sadness of Gus and Bertie’s final days, so was delighted to see a young, healthy puppy.

Gilbert, of course, was excited to meet another new human. He’s very excited about everything and particularly if treats are involved. 

Back home, he settled down for a snooze before Arthur came to play.

Roxy and the cats watched tolerantly as the two youngsters mauled each other, then they went to sleep. 

Jellicoe doesn't stand any nonsense from Gilbert and tells him off with a hiss and a cuff if he becomes too boisterous.

Herschel adores the dogs and understands that Gilbert is young. Therefore, his discipline is firm but less harsh than his brother's. 

Jellicoe takes the meaning of 'dog bed' to a new dimension. Roxy doesn't seem to mind.

Herschel likes to sleep in the Master's chair, cosy on the faux fur cover.

He's quite well camouflaged!

In four weeks' time we will repeat the exercise. By then, Gilbert will be quite big and heavy. At nine weeks he weighed 6.5 kg. This week he was 7.8 kg. 

Will he have put on another 5 kg by then? I suspect it will be more! Carrying him up and down stairs will become more and more of a weight-lifting exercise. Will it improve my core strength, I wonder?

Introducing Gilbert

 

Gilbert at Christmas, in Shropshire, where he was born

Gilbert, 8 weeks old, in his new home in Berkshire

More to follow, once we're in a proper routine

SkyWatch Friday Season 5, Episode 15 October sunset in Berkshire, UK

Sunset in Berkshire, UK, 20th October 2011     

Click here to see more skies across the globe

SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 3 Daybreak

Daybreak - July 27th 2010, 05:08 - from the patio

When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
Marcus Aurelius (26.04.101 - 17.03.180)

Morning is the best of all times in the garden. The sun is not yet hot. Sweet vapors rise from the earth. Night dew clings to the soil and makes plants glisten. Birds call to one another.
Bees are already at work.
William (Frank) Longgood (1917 - )

An aubade is a song or musical composition about or evoking daybreak. Sometimes it is about lovers separating at dawn.

And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hillside's dew-pearled;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His Heaven;
All's right with the world!
Robert Browning (07.05.1812 - 12.12.1889)
(This poem was written later - or earlier - in the year for dawn in July is around 5:00 am)

Daybreak July 29th 2010, 05:26 - from the patio

Many thanks to the SkyWatch team for their hard work every week organising and hosting this meme. To see more glorious skies around this beautiful world please click here.

SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 21

This morning night crept sulkily into day under a monotonous sky . . . but this time last week the morning was clear and cold and bright.

Early morning, late November, Berkshire UK.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring? Probably more rain!!

What's happening in the skies around the world? Click here to find out!

Many thanks to the SkyWatch team of Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Sylvia K for undertaking the task of hosting this meme . . .

Oracle

The Oracle at Delphi conjures visions of grace and wisdom. An oracle foresees events and advises on effective ways to deal with them. An oracle is noble, commanding respect.

It has another meaning in Berkshire, UK. The Oracle in Reading is a large indoor shopping and leisure mall on three floors. It is situated on the banks of the River Kennet and has cinemas and restaurants to afford relief to weary shoppers.

It takes its name from a 17^th century workhouse once located on The Oracle site.

What puzzles me is how a workhouse and subsequently a temple to commerce can be 'associated with soothsaying. For its unfortunate inhabitants a workhouse foretold only abject misery and little hope of escape for no other crime than being poor.

Shops selling luxury ephemera perhaps forewarn of credit crunch and crash to those who have eyes to see. The revelation The Oracle affords is of a nation seduced by advertising to spend hard-earned money on things which are not necessities.

I understand the lure of 'retail therapy'. I do not understand why classical names are given to what is after all merely 'trade'.

Thank you to Laini and Megg for initiating and hosting this meme.

To see more interpretations please click here.

SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 14 Red sky at night . . .

Red sky at night, shepherd's delight . . .
Berkshire shepherds must have been thrilled when they saw these skies on Monday evening.

Thank you to the Skywatch team for organising and hosting this meme.

To see more skies around the globe please click here

SkyWatch Friday #58

Photographs this week were taken from the passenger seat of the car as Gillian and I drove from Berkshire to Dorset. We were caught in slow-moving traffic. Tom Tom informed us that there were delays just after we passed an alternative road - very helpful! We were told repeatedly that we were on the fastest route as we chugged along at 4 mph!



It was a pleasant sunny day and the sky was interesting. Despite the 'No U-turn' sign some drivers decided to risk it!
Beyond the fence there was a pig farm.
They had plenty of room to root around, adequate shelters and water and there were many crows keeping them company. Pigs need shade as they can suffer from sunburn.
It's good to know there are parking lay-bys ahead with public telephones. Cars overheat or break down and it's not always possible to get a signal on a mobile (cell) phone.

When we reached the turn off to Stonehenge we saw the cause of the traffic jam. There had been an accident on the opposite side of the road. Ambulance and police were in attendance and people on our side of the carriageway had been rubber-necking. Ghouls!

The traffic flowed freely thereafter.

If you would like to see other skies from around the globe please click here

Thank you to the hosts of this meme, Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise.

The Adventures of Frodo the Faller (3)

Frodo at 6 months old

Until he was nearly three Frodo had led an uneventful life. The biggest change he had experienced was moving from his Lincolnshire home to Berkshire at the age of five months. The two older Dalmatians grumbled as a matter of form but soon Dominie was playing with him and Buddy was sniffing him surreptitiously – they had accepted him.

We had been wondering how he would react to our cats as the only felines he had seen hitherto had been at a distance in the cattery at his old kennels. Our two elderly blue Burmese were both now rather stiff and Pansy was going blind. Singleton's vision had always been compromised as she was cross-eyed – not uncommon in Oriental cats. They had always lived with dogs in the house and knew they were the superior beings and need not trouble themselves over this callow spotted upstart. We introduced them carefully and Frodo was fascinated by them. He sniffed and licked and they tolerated his attentions. This was our first indication of his enormous capacity for gentleness. When Pansy died, he and Singleton spent a long time sniffing about the house searching for her in her old haunts. Our cats had always been indoor cats, not having any fear of people or dogs, though we feared for them. Air rifles can be just as deadly as cars and we saw no reason to expose them to danger. A year after Pansy's death Singleton passed away and Frodo was miserable.

Our eldest daughter visited with her two dogs, Jake the Wonder Rescue dog and Tia the Labrador. Frodo saw how the long-term residents reacted, greeting the visitors like old friends, and followed suit. He was delighted to have playmates. Walking in the forest with the five dogs was an interesting affair. Jake was a very obedient dog – it had been beaten into him by his previous owners – until he was off the lead and running free. When he saw another dog he would rush forward to meet it like a long-lost friend, deaf to all calls to come back. Most times his exuberance was not rebuffed. Dominie, though big and looking fearsome, ambled up agreeably to other dogs, greeting those she knew with her chirruping, warbling cry of welcome. Buddy was more formal, the sort of dog who if he had been a human would have raised his hat and gruffly remarked on the fineness of the day. Tia, still very young, was always ready to play but Frodo was a different prospect altogether. He mistrusted, distrusted, disliked on sight any other dog that dared to come within twenty yards of him – or us. Suddenly our gentle boy was protecting his tribe. If the strange dog read the signs correctly and retreated Frodo was appeased. We soon learnt to hold him close when unknown canines refused to believe that their friendly overtures were being rejected and insisted on trying to sniff his rear end. Dogs can spin! He made a lot of unpleasant noise but would not have acted on it – 'all mouth and no trousers' as the saying has it. Nonetheless it was sufficient to cause the adrenaline to flow, human and canine.

Back at home he was the perfect gentleman once more apart from food. Like many of his breed he was a practised thief and lost no opportunity to supplement his rations with some of ours. Failing that, bird seed scattered on the grass proved agreeable though, judging by the end results, he didn't derive much sustenance from it.

Then came the day of the first Falling, of which more anon.

Dominie (facing) and Frodo playing, Wildmoor Heath, 2006