Churchyard Hay Harvest Complete

Sunday 2nd August saw the Hay Harvest completed in a very good time by 20+ volunteers. The hay was well dried, which made it much easier to collect. The hay was sent to Butser Ancient Farm, who were very pleased with the quality. They plan to make one or two ‘iron age’ haystacks with it, before feeding it to their animals.

Churchyard Haymaking

At 3.00 pm on Sunday 2nd August a working party will be gathering the hay in All Saints churchyard. This is done every year as part of the process to develop a wildflower meadow in the churchyard. You are welcome to join in this work. Please contact Graham Davenport at grahammdavenport0@gmail.com if you available to help.

Comma Butterfly on Bramble Flowers

Yes, it is that time of year when the blackberries will soon be ready for picking. The bramble flower nectar is one of the main sources of food for the comma butterfly in the summer months. Blackberries should not be confused with dewberries which are ripe and in the hedgerows now. Dewberries are bigger than blackberries, have fewer segments and are covered in a bluish bloom.

Lady’s Bedstraw now in full bloom & scent

Lady’s bedstraw is now flowering throughout the parish. It has a wonderful honey like scent. This picture was taken of a great flush of flowers on the footpath from South Farm to the South Downs Way. Flowers of the bedstraw family where often used in the stuffing of mattresses in medieval and early modern times, hence the name. Lady’s bedstraw was often used for the pillows as it has the strongest and sweetest scent, plus Read more…