Day 286 - Half a Hole

no entry

The ongoing saga of the hole in the hedgerow has reached new levels of drama of late, with the mysterious semi-blocking of the hole itself.

You may remember I have posted a series of photo's of this hedgerow...

The first, way back in January, depicting the chill of the winter...and the early daffodil shoots giving maybe the first hint of a Spring that will not really arrive for another couple of months...

The second, in April, showed Spring fully sprung, with the foliage going into jungle mode, to the extent that you can almost see it growing in the image...

The third was in late July, showing the dry brown of Summer...Spring growth is well and truly over and the great die-back has commenced.

I cut the hole myself a couple of years ago, and it's proved very useful ever since, being used in a variety of ways through the year...the workmen dealing with the drains used to get through to the section that lies off -property...I use it to get to the other side of our hedgerow (for instance, when tackling the triffid-like bramble that infests the hawthorn)...on the rare occasion that one of the cats disappeared, it's a handy way into the field to look for them...and we often took the dogs through it straight into the wheat field after harvest - they really loved a newly-harvested field, for reasons I never quite understood.

The only other way into the field involves walking 100m down the lane the lane, climbing over the gate, then walking the 100m back up to the house.

Also, I'm quite fond of it - it's like a little hidden gate straight through into the wider, wilder world beyond our borders...most of the time you can't even see it until you're just in the right position, and facing in the right direction.

So I was somewhat taken aback to find the hole partially filled in, oddly, with foliage that's been cut back from somewhere (perhaps from the hedgerow itself?). 

I've no idea who did it, or why...I can't imagine the landlord (or his agents) would care about the hole in the hedgerow, and I can't think who else would think they had the authority to do that to our hedgerow without even consulting us. 

One thing is for sure - it's got to go!  October is nearly here, which means it's time for the final part of the Hole in the Hedgerow series, the Autumn Edition. 

I can't have it spoiled by a blocked view for the final chapter of this little story. 

Got some more barriers to break tomorrow, then...

;-)