North Downs

The Downs lie just a few miles east of the village. It would be a pleasant walk but for the fact that the M20 motorway lies in the valley between.
I usually walk on the downs when I make a visit to the allotment and need to walk Dylan. We cross rolling fields, which this year have been planted with oil seed rape. These fields are never ploughed between crops, but simply harrowed and sown, using a three crop rotation with wheat or barley and field beans as the two other crops. The rape this year has grown very rapidly in the mild weather, though seed germination appears to have been more spasmodic than is usually the case.
There was a cold wind blowing from the north today and I was thankful to be well wrapped up. As I approached the downs a buzzard, harassed by three crows, drew my attention. These birds disappear from the scene for much of the summer but as now, reappear in the winter. Until recent years, I would have had to travel to Wales or the west country to see these birds, but they have gradually spread further east with each passing year and they undoubtedly now breed in this area. With less persecution, an increased number of rabbits providing a food source, and the elimination of pesticides which weakened their egg-shells, these birds now prosper. It is great to see them effortlessly riding the up draft as the the prevailing wind hits the downs. The turf below them is short cropped due entirely to the efforts of the rabbit population and so the predatory birds should have no difficulty finding sufficient sustenance to see them through the cold months.