This last few days has seen the harvest almost grind to a
halt. Rain has lashed parts of The
Cotswolds and the phonetic activity of a week ago of combines being chased by
corn trailers in turn being chased by bailers in turn being chased by discs and
ploughs has now left just the discs charging over The Cotswold brash, turning
the soil leaving it more acceptable to the autumn’s drilling. The countryside now, much of the flamboyant
colour of the spring, summer months has now been replaced to somewhat an autumn
scene.
One evening, mid-week I was startled with some urgent
knocking on the front door and it was some friends that thought we might be
able to help with a severely injured Kestrel.
On closer examination of the bird, its injuries had left it almost
lifeless. The following day the Kestrel
quietly passed away. Always exceptionally
sad to see a bird of such beauty come to such an undignified end.
However, the good news of the week was, my daughter
Sophie tore herself away from London and had a nice quiet week here in The
Cotswolds, where she shopped in Cheltenham town with her mother, and baked
various goodies with an enthusiasm akin to Mary Berry.
Other news this week I found quite amazing how in the
aftermath of the shooting down of the Malaysian airliner MH317 in amongst
international indignation, the Russians decided to retaliate with the banning
of all EU, American and Australian dairy products. This tit for tat behaviour almost cheapens
the lives of all those souls that were lost on that particular aircraft. An act of such a monstrous nature and
brutality has been counter balanced by the injustice of the impoverishment of
the Russian people and to the detriment of worldwide agriculture also resulting
once again in the fall of the Iron Curtain coming down between Russia and the
rest of Europe. Very sad days ahead I
fear.
All the hoo ha and hullabaloo of BTB and the Badger cull
of last year 2013, almost pales into insignificance by such a potential
devastating act to bring world trade into the arena of annexation is simply
politics of a school boy yard mentality.
Little wonder that the world seems more chaotic now than it has done in
the last forty years.
To see the devastation and destruction of the biggest
open air prison in the world, Gaza, it is starting to resemble the ghettos of
Warsaw under Nazi occupation. The
ghettos that the world turned their backs on, including our own Winston
Churchill, although, in his case you could argue that he already had enough on
his plate. Disproportionate bombing
beyond belief, and the behaviour is in response to the three thousand seven
hundred missiles plus that have been launched into Israel from the Palestinian
side. When you see the pathetic
retaliation by Hamas to end the blockade that has been going on for years, to
try and stop the ever encroaching settlements you cannot help but think, when
this is all done and dusted, Hamas could start up a thriving export business an
outdoor firework regalia, because the rockets you see being fired from them I’m
sure that we have all seen something similar on any outdoor firework
extravaganza, especially our own Guy Fawkes on November 5th.
The ever increasing march of Isis causing mayhem
throughout Iraq. The mayhem in Libya,
even Egypt, the brokers between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Them themselves, swept into power on a Coup
displacing the legitimate elected Muslim brotherhood. The whole thing doesn’t actually fill one
with any confidence on any meaningful lasting peace in the region.
President Obama has at last decided to take the bull by
the horns and try and stop this march of the fanatics albeit six months too
late. But any move to try and save and
stop the genocide of one of the oldest peoples, The Yazidiz, in the region has
got to be welcomed and applauded.
It seems to me the whole business of these regime
changes, i.e. Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Colonel Gadhafi of Libya, Mubarak of
Egypt and Assad of Syria has caused more devastation, more loss of life and has
totally succeeded in destabilising and creating vacuums for power which
otherwise would not have existed.
The tough leaders of the Middle East who seemed to keep
some kind of order and quality of life for the masses has now gone and there
has barely been a day of normality since.
On a lighter note, my Badger sett is doing extremely
well. The cubs now are almost the size
of their parents. The iron curtain that
came down around them with the deployment of Mozart’s Magic Flute has served
them well. Long may it continue.
Please watch my short film of Mrs Badger bedding down her
sett in the pouring rain with the straw Daddy Cool has hauled in from the
harvested field.
Mother Badger starting to bed down her sett with freshly hauled barley straw,
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