Holmedale, excellent signs in East Yorkshire.

Traveled to Holmedale again, after sketching here yesterday. I moved closer to the signpost at the junction where the left turn goes to Holme on the Wolds and South Dalton, turning right heads for Kiplingcoates, where the worlds oldest horse race starts. Anyway, I digress, the farm on the top of the hill is mostly hidden from this viewpoint, however my main concern lay with capturing the cow parsley, to show how it is highlighted by the shaded hedge. In 'Wildwood, a journey through trees',      Roger Deakin     talks           of ' bubbling cow-parsley'. The wood to the left of the farm, and above Holme Dale is Swiftdale Plantation. As I painted the farmer appeared again and set about weeding out stray strands of barley ( or maybe black grass?) from his wheat field. Again, I am using just the three colours, red,blue and yellow, plus white. The verges are flowering well and promise much more as the summer develops, the whites being replaced as the season progresses. I took George for another walk before setting up and was pleased to see a pair of buzzards and a pair of red kite. Small birds sang hidden in the hedges except for when they broke cover and flew across the road to disappear in the opposite hedge.I noticed a pink wild rose growing in the rhs hedge, a simple, beautiful wild rose. Also in the hedge to my right guelder rose bushes were also flowering with hydrangea type clusters. Plaintains, whose delicate quivering petals ascend the dark, tufted head, nod at passers bye. I stopped and walked George again after feeding him. The farmer roguing the field to my left was now without his jacket of yesterday, reflecting the warmer weather. He bends down almost vanishing in the crop so that he can pull up the unwanted plants close to the ground. When inspecting the field edge I was delighted to discover Viola arvensis (field violets) growing in profusion, a delicate unassuming little gem hiding in open sight. Though sunnier today the wind gusted strongly at times and made me grab the canvas. It also meant that fine detailing was not possible as the canvas flapped unpredictably. Looking to my left,  a field of barley became liquid waves and was breaking towards a hedge, I quickly added sinuous dashes.  I decided I had done enough and popped over to the Pipe and Glass. Perhaps the title should be 'Holmedale, where the signs are pretty' (:o)

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