Living Landscape

What’s the spirit of a landscape? What makes the landscape itself, and what makes it alive? The broad horizons of the Lambourn Downs are walked by livestock, and have been for thousands of years. Cattle and sheep were central to the ‘domestication’ of the countryside in these parts.

In some ways, the livestock helped to shape the character of this landscape, and they are part of the living, working environment. Just as agriculture has changed with the times, so have the breeds of cattle, but a drover from the Iron Age might recognise this scene today.

My point is, I took photos of the landscape in this same field without these cattle, but I think the picture is all the richer for the animals being present.

(Click the picture to see it larger.)

A buzz in a little brown packet

For sale – Kidney Vetch Wildflower Seed Mixture

Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria) is my favourite part of the seed mixture because it’s so good as a source of nectar and pollen for insects.  This seed mix was taken from an outstanding Oxfordshire wildflower meadow with a brush-harvester. It’s totally natural (proved by the seed pods and bits of dried flower!) so you’re getting the combination of flowers and grasses that were actually growing in the pasture. Content weight: approximately 3 grams in each packet.

Great for wildlife
I also call this wildflower seed mixture my ’Small Blue mix’ because Kidney Vetch is the foodplant for the caterpillar of the Small Blue butterfly. Small Blue is on the priority list for UK Biodiversity and the famous wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation. You can download a Small Blue factsheet from the Butterfly Conservation website.

 

Bees just love Kidney Vetch and when you see bumblebees delving into the vetch for nectar, you can see how well adapted the flowers are – it fits snugly, and daubs the visitor with pollen. This and other members of the pea family – like Gorse – are important nectar sources in May and early June. Wildlife gardeners know that wild bees need our help, and they are so useful to a garden, as pollinators.

Growing hints
Kidney Vetch likes alkaline/limey conditions and it does best as a coloniser of bare patches and gravelly areas. It even germinates in the hoofprints left by cattle, the ideal grazing companion. Beware – they get eaten out by sheep and rabbits.

Because this is a mixture of seeds it could be something you sow anywhere, but alkaline soils, and especially chalky soils will be best.

I’ve been very pleased to see Kidney Vetch has successfully germinated in a ‘butterfly scrape’ which I excavated to expose bare chalk. I raked over the ground to create a shallow seed bed. After sprinkling the seed I raked it over again and stamped over the whole area to ensure good seed-soil contact. Watering is a good idea, of course, or sow when plenty of rain is due.

My Kidney Vetch mixture on ebay

Comma butterfly framed photo for sale

A portrait of a Comma, rich and vibrant. Its perch is a blackberry bush - where you might well see a Comma as summer nears its end. This portrait is similar to the ‘landscape’ picture of a Comma at www.poppyfield-gallery.com/comma.htm

For sale on ebay for the first time.

My photography

Nature is my main inspiration, and my work ranges from landscape such as this, to close-up pictures of the natural world, or artistic interpretations. Poppies are a favourite of mine, hence the name of my online gallery. Please take a moment to look through some more of my photography at poppyfield-gallery.com

Most of my buyers are fellow nature lovers. Some of my photographs have been published, e.g. in BBC Wildlife Magazine, BBC Countryfile Magazine, Birdwatching Magazine, and I have written a few articles for BBC Berkshire.

A few words on quality

I shoot Canon cameras, use the Canon FINE printer system and only use professional paper for my framed prints! My equipment is powered by Ecotricity. Oak wood frame, with a glass front. Ivory-coloured card mount, titled and signed. Frame tape on the back to keep out dust. (If you request hanging loops and picture wire I can add these free-of-charge. Email me after you win the item.)

For sale on ebay for the first time.

Ullswater landscape photo for sale

View to Ullswater from Aira Force

The fabulous view reaches to Ullswater and the rocky hills that surround the lake. In the foreground, oak trees stand majestically on the lush Cumbrian pasture.

A summer haze provides ‘layers’ to the composition of this landscape photograph. Many people say that Ullswater is their favourite of all the lakes of the Lake District. I took this picture from the path to the famous Aira Force waterfall.

Find this picture for sale on ebay…

My photography
Nature is my main inspiration, and my work ranges from landscape such as this, to close-up pictures of the natural world, or artistic interpretations. Poppies are a favourite of mine, hence the name of my online gallery. Please take a moment to look through some more of my photography at poppyfield-gallery.com

Most of my buyers are fellow nature lovers. Some of my photographs have been published, e.g. in BBC Wildlife Magazine, BBC Countryfile Magazine, Birdwatching Magazine, and I have written a few articles for BBC Berkshire.

A few words on quality
I shoot Canon cameras. I use a Canon FINE printer system and I only use professional paper! My equipment is powered by Ecotricity.

Hand Framed
A real wood frame, with a ‘distressed oak’ effect. Glass front. The black card mount brings out the colours of the picture. I used frame tape on the back to keep out dust. (If you request D-loops and picture wire I can add these free-of-charge. Email me after you win the item.)

Measurements (approx):
The whole frame:
INCHES = fourteen and three-quarters, by eleven and a quarter
CENTIMETRES = 37.5 x 29

The picture as mounted (aperture):
INCHES = eight and five-eigths, by five and one-eigth.
CENTIMETRES = 22 x 13

Postage
For peace of mind I will use Royal Mail Special Delivery. This includes insurance and is a tracked and ’signed for’ service. There may be a short delay before I can package and post the item – I’m away for the weekend. However, the delivery time is then next working day.

LINK : Buy it now on ebay…
Thank you for looking!

Jason Ball at poppyfield-gallery.com

Free money for farmers and…

Berkshire Young Farmers Show
Sunday 31 May
9am – 5pm
Newbury Showground

This weekend I’m at the Berkshire Young Farmers Show, trying to interest people in money! To grab people’s attention, I designed and printed this roll-up banner, which stands over 2 metres tall.

I’m on the Local Action Group for the North Wessex Downs LEADER FUND. A few farmers and I are in a sub-group to promote this new source of grants to people who work in the Land Management sector.

Plus, next Tuesday evening (2nd June) there is an official launch of the LEADER funding at Hungerford Town Hall, with 170 guests booked to attend. Then we await hundreds of applications for money – we hope!