Thursday 16 May 2013

Spring has finally arrived...................................................................................

 My local countryside is at last coming into leaf...

 ... the tree I see on my commute has only shown life over the last few days.

The hedgerows that border the lanes were bereft of greenery just over a week ago...
...hard to believe as I drove home this evening.

Cheshire has some beautiful countryside and hedgerows like these have been the fence of choice for centuries... supporting a wide variety of wildlife including mammals, invertebrates and of course at this time of year nesting birds.

 Cheshire has lost 66% of it's hedgerows since 1992... modern farming and machinery need bigger fields.
Approx 185,000 km of hedges have been destroyed in England and Wales since the 1980's.
One of the reasons for the decline of bird species in the UK.

Linking to Skywatch Friday and Friday's Fences

23 comments:

Steffi said...

Fantastic photos for SWF,Andrew!Have a nice weekend!

TexWisGirl said...

sad to see that beauty replaced with more 'modern' fencing.

HansHB said...

This s great photowork!
Perfect post for SWF!

leanne can blog said...

beautiful, love the lone tree in the first shot.

Bob Bushell said...

Sad to see the decline over mans greed, they should always be made aware of hedgerows are good. I like your tree.

FAB said...

Nature always responds to a little bit of sunshine and better temperatures.

The quest to increase crop yields for an increasing population has definitely had a dramatic effect on much of our wildlife.

sunshine said...

Great photos and a nice area. The modern farming is killing many things.

Sharon Whitley said...

Sad to think of how humans are yet again responsible for decline in our wildlife - great photos as always

John @ Beans and I on the Loose said...

I always enjoy seeing pictures of Andrew's Tree. I like those road shots especially that first one.

Rose said...

I love that first pic. Hate to see hedgerows and in our area fence rows removed. Partly because they are shelter for wildlife and also because I worry about erosion. Would hate to live through a dust bowl like this country had in the 30's.

Michelle said...

I do quite like that lone tree.

Karen said...

Lovely shots of the countryside Andrew.

Unknown said...

I like how you've got the road and the hedge and then the grass. Its interesting how the white lines end on the road and you can see trees in the back ground also you can see the road turning. The photos are amazing. epic post.

Brian King said...

I love that tree! Glad to see it again! Too bad about the loss of so many hedgerows.

Unknown said...

Your first pic is almost a still life! Now I come to think of it, it seems that a hedgerow is more common as a "fence" in Western Europe than in the USA (at least where I have lived).

Lucy Corrander Now in Halifax! said...

Had to check to see where you are based because parts of Dorset have countryside like this too.

holdingmoments said...

Good to see proper 'fencing' like that Andrew.

LV said...

Nature's life is supplying you with an abundance of beautiful greens.

The Herald said...

Nice to see the 'green' bursting out at last Andrew, it's been a long time coming this year!!...[;o)

Jan n Jer said...

Love all the lush green...spring has arrived for sure!

Arija said...

How green everything is! Love your special tree as do a lot of other followers of your blog.

Maya said...

Wonderful hedgerows...and so sad what humans, machinery, and modernization does to beautiful nature. Thank you for sharing these, Andrew. And I do love your tree, too :-)

Tina´s PicStory said...

great shots! my fave is the first one :)