Years of gardening both in the north and the south of England ought to have inured me to the vagaries of the weather and indeed over the years I have become philosophical about snow in May ,heat waves in February and even the odd hurricane I have taken in my stride!
That was then. Today on may way through the village in yet another downpour and with such poor light the headlamps were required that I noticed something odd.
Along the road side several full grown lime trees were showing the unmistakable signs of Autumn! Some years ago when we were suffering from a real drought I recollect that many trees shed their leaves early as a defence against the killingly dry conditions,in fact many did not recover.
Dry conditions can hardly be the cause today's observations,or indeed some others noticed recently by myself and others.
Many garden vegetables are behaving as if Autumn has arrived pumpkins and squashes look as they usually do in early October,sunflowers are dying back having not yet flowered, in fact all around the signs of early decay can be seen. Yesterday while talking to some gardening friends I was told of tomatoes dying on the vine,mildew, potatoes rotting in the ground and it seems that having lost many early crops to wet weather,slugs and cold snaps we are not to expect much of a harvest later.
This years strawberry harvest has been a washout nationally but never before have I seen Logan and Tay berries rotten and mouldy even before the are ripe. Poor pollination due to wet weather has has a devastating effect on the fruit crop but what about the effect that it must be having upon the bee colonies which rely on the pollen from these trees .
Torrential rain day after day means that bees cannot leave they cannot leave the hive to collect the stuff indeed days can go by without seeing a single bee about its vital business.
Worse than all for me is the dreadful and continuous low light level which makes it both look and feels like late Autumn, I traded in my sun tan lotion for a can of W.D 40 weeks ago! Summer dresses remain unworn as do white trousers and sandals,wellies and fleeces have been in continuous use since last October ,I refuse to wear a scarf of gloves but watch this space.
Speaking as a gardener I have had enough,speaking as a lover of wild life I am worried that a lack of fruit and seeds form trees and shrubs could have a catastrophic effect upon our animals and birds.
Last year our ash trees were heavy with seed, this years there is nothing to be seen but the dead husks of unpollinated flowers,it is certainly cause for concern.
Watching the birds it seems that there may be a shortage of bugs and beasties as our feeding stations are unusually active for the time of year. Everything is in decline...including me!
When the weather conditions are discussed we are told that the problem is that the jet stream is in a very unusual position,much further north than usual..USUAL.. correct me if I am wrong but were we not given exactly the same excuse for prolonged bouts of snow over the past three years or so, perhaps the unusual has become usual...what do you think?
He bee population already in steep decline a summer
One thing is certain global warming this ain’t! Climate change sounds more like it and that is what worries me. With the bee population already in steep decline a summer such as this could be catastrophic and without bees we are doomed.
Sorry to be such an old Jonah but there really is more at stake here than an overstock of summer togs at Tesco or a few washed out music festivals.
It is time that the media began to report the real issues instead of trivialising what could be the beginning of the end for many species on this planet....including ours.
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