Yesterday was cold in a poncey, Southern English kind of way – you know, a slight frost in the morning, some condensation on my study window (I’ve turned off the radio in my Bonsai tree’s interest), clear skies (almost) and with just enough of a chill in the air to make me wear a scarf and wonder if I should’ve worn a t-shirt under my shirt. Yes, freezing weather indeed for us Southern English. The sunshine was most welcome as was the sight of those men in orange life-jackets up there on the Bronze Age mound that borders onto my back garden here in Lewes, UK. Brach Mound gets pretty over-grown by this time of year but it also, gives those of us who live next-door to it, a taste of open country in the middle of town.
The growth was particularly jungle-like this year and, now that the Winter sun is losing its athleticism, we need as few obstacles as we can tolerate, if we’re not going to be cast into darkness. Luckily, the men in orange, were armed with their strimmers and they worked all day giving Brach Mound its Autumn haircut. I just watched through my window.
There! Much better. Brach Mound has now got it’s seasonal crew-cut but it will all grow back and provide ample habitat for the birds, insects and other small creatures that make their homes there from Spring through to Summer.
The skeletal evening silhouettes of the trees look splendidly eerie when their surrounding undergrowth is chopped away. Now I can truly tell that the season has just changed to Winter.
They’re back this morning to finish the job – it’s a difficult job coordinating the machinery with the security ropes. It’s great to watch them from the warm indoors.
