Nature Notes

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained with the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit Beneath my shady roof; where thou may’est rest, And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe. And all the daughters of the year shall dance! Sing now the lusty songs of fruits and flowers.

William Blake, 1783

Autumn is the season of harvest; not just the grain, but the picking of apples and grapes in orchards and vineyards, and the natural harvest of fruit and nuts, blackberries, elderberries, sloes, fungi and mushrooms, and hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts, and of course the horse chestnut to provide conkers. Unfortunately a recently arrived leaf-mining moth from Macedonia has begun to infest the trees, while a virulent fungal disease, known as bleeding canker is also making inroads. First reported in the UK in the late 1970s, the disease may be on the increase as mild winters and wetter springs encourage its spread.

However the majority of insects do good and are essential for pollination, so imagine my horror the other day when in one single publication I saw a “Patio Bug Zapper”, a Cordless Solar-powered Portable Insect Killer”, an “Attract and Zap Plug-in Bug Zapper”. But it seems not only are our insects in peril, there was a “24-hour protection against unwanted garden animals – Sonic Cat Repeller” and finally “Target all nuisance animals from 20 metres with your very own Mega-Sonic Scatter-Cat hand held gun”, all this in a publication called Easylife!! Perhaps we will soon see “An Even Easier Life” magazine with “Mega-Sonic Children Scatter Gun”! What is happening to the world – have people gone mad (of course the answer is yes!).

On September 12^th in the year 1680, old Mr Rod near Hereford died at the age of 106 years. His diet was strange. He never ate flesh, nor fish, nor milk, nor butter, nor cheese, only hard eggs. But at 50 years old he ate the forehand of a roasted pig, and afterwards could eat any part of a pig; else he never ate any flesh. He loved sack, but drank it temperately.

John Aubrey ‘Observations’ 1685

Grenville Moore

This site is maintained by villagers of Oxhill for the benefit of the community and those interested in the history, news and activities that make the village such a pleasant place to live.

Send mail to the editor of the Oxhill News at news-editor @ oxhill.org.uk.

Last modified: September 03, 2008