August bales await a Colley near South Dalton.

 I love this typical August scene. The harvest has been collected in many areas as farmers rush to beat the weather. I saw this as I passed and decided to walk George in the field. This view with the spire of St. Mary’s at South Dalton looked interesting in a quiet way. I find that recording the farming year seems to anchor me to the seasons. I am much more aware of the challenges  farmers face with the variable weather, how it can effect sowing and germination, indeed the application of fertiliser, pesticides etcetera. In this field stubble still stands stiffly, about 20cm tall, cropped by a combine. It is brittle and George does not like to walk through it. In the foreground, pale green areas with white flower heads is camomile, stunted a little I think, probably by the application of some pesticide to the main crop. In an adjoining field I was pleased to see a handful of lapwing, a reminder of seeing flocks of hundreds when I was a child. Overhead, a pair of buzzards flew over a nearby wood. In the road behind me a huge Colley wagon passes with an empty flatbed, later returning loaded with bales from another field.

14x10 inch oil on canvas,

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