Free-Range Living

 ' Pestilential Times ------- ?'

Now at the end of June, the growth in the countryside here in the UK midlands at the eco organic micro-holding has been, well, 'awesome' ---. The hedges down the lane for instance are burgeoning, ripe and fullsome, with wild dog rose and honeysuckle flowers running rampant through them. The laneside borders too, are in full cry - tall grass seed heads mixing with foxglove flowers and bracken, a reminder of more ancient times when this area was all heathland. Just walking with old Pipster down the lane is a nature ramble in itself. Good ol' Hipster Pipster, a well-built Scottish Border Collie, can't go too far these days - he is knocking on a bit at 115 years equivalent, and his hips are not what they were. His hearing has all but gone and his eyesight could be better but like the old soldier he is, he keeps on keeping on. He hasn't had too bad a life, certainly not, erm, a dog's life, with him not being over anxious to get too acquainted with animals such as cattle and sheep - it's suspected that the famous collie intelligence has been at work, especially when it started to look like work --- To be fair to Pip, he has been 'Head of Security', deigning to bark if anyone was about, then licking them to death. He's had a big heart and a great sense of fun - he's been a 'good ol' boy', and a great mate.

Another 'good ol' boy' collie was encountered on a recent break in the UK's scenic Yorkshire Dales area. Having taken the train northwards from Settle on the celebrated scenic Settle - Carlisle line and then stopping at one of several remote stations, the eye fell naturally on a statue of a collie dog on the railway platform, with the nameplate 'Russwarp' ( pronounced 'Russup'), an intriguing event. On getting back home, the internet revealed the story behind the statue. Russwarp was devoted to his human mate, who was a rail enthusiast and an avid hillwalker, taking the dog wth him for some mid-winter rambles in the hills of North Wales. Tragedy struck and Russ's mate fell ill and died on the mountainside. A lone walker found his body some eleven and a half weeks, they reckoned, later - and there was Russwarp, very weak, still lying loyally by the side of his mate, who'd been a founder member of the group dedicated to saving this scenic rail line from the axe. Russwarp didn't last too long after that -he was quite old already - and the good folk in Yorkshire, the fellow enthusiasts, did the honours for 'Russup', having the statue erected at the station. A sad tale --- but uplifting at the same time --- ?

 'The Blighters --- '

The growing season here on the micro-holding (small smallholding) in the English heartlands has brought , as usual, mixed results, especially with the trials that the legions of slugs and snails, the little blighters,  have brought. Slug pellets, the expensive organic-friendly variety, have had to be used, otherwise it would have been 'wipeout' on the susceptible crops. Some of the other crops haven't done particularly well - the broad beans and peas don't really look to be strong enough plants, for instance. They are growing next to a hedge, so it maybe that that area will have to have an extra compost application in the future. Lettuce for salads have been on tap since early May, with other salad items such as radish, land cress (like water cress) and spring onions, and there looks to be a good crop of raspberries just coming ripe.

The good news is that the strategy of putting the early/early maincrop potato variety 'Pentland Javelin' in the ground early under plastic to try to get a crop before the blight disease strikes, seems to have paid off. Before taking off for the break mentioned above a couple of weeks or so ago, there was little sign of blight in what looked like a potentially good crop of potatoes. Coming back some ten days later, virtually all the top growth of this early variety had gone with quite an attack of blight. On digging some up, though - lo and behold - there was quite a reasonable yield of crop, mostly as yet unaffected by the blight disease. Digging up a decent crop of potatoes can be satisfying - it's sort of like unearthing 'buried treasure', and it's cleaning the ground, weeding it, and cultivating it for the next crop, all in the one process. The blight resistant main crop varieties, Sarpo Mira and Allouette, are looking strong and, fingers crossed, as yet unaffected by the blight ---

Summer in old Blighty' --- (old slang name for England)

Tumultuous times here in the UK with the populace voting in the recent referendum to leave the European Community. One of the sticking points has been free movement of people within the EC, which sounds good but can be problematic for relatively small, and some might say, crowded, countries such as the UK, attractive to immigrants, but putting pressure, for instance, on public services. The other major reason given for the 'no' vote can be pretty relevant for those of the 'freeranger', independent style of outlook, in that the charge has been that the EC has become/is becoming more of a European 'Amalgam' rather than a community, with strong interests seemingly wishing to create one giant 'amalgamised' country, rather than say, what it suggests i.e. a community, with appropriately shared facilities such as, say, trade and defence, but retaining individual countries sovereignty and independence - and of course, character. The further concern has been that important decisions affecting individual nations have said to have been made by unelected EC officials, thus undermining the basis of democracy.

 There's been quite a bit of teeth gnashing though, by the 'great and the good' who seem to be particularly worried that times will get economically tighter (with then less opportunity for considerable individual wealth creation?), and demonstrations have been held in the capital protesting at the 'out' outcome and wanting a re-run - not exactly then 'taking it on the chin', as it were, and not acting too democratically either - ? Breaking away from a big grouping and 'going it alone' may of course involve some hardships and challenges, but might such a price be worth paying to capture the 'end prize' of autonomy, independence and the retention of national character - ? And is a certain amount of challenge and hardship useful for forging good people, as northern UK folk might perhaps suggest - ?

 Maybe the fact that here in the UK, the cultural trend seems to have been to support the individual to 'do their own thing' and to 'be ok as they are', with the side dish thinking that 'greed is good', has lead then to the 'small self' approach having been encouraged, which could then work against the ability to see any 'bigger picture' - ?  Notable writers such as Huxley ('Brave New World') and Orwell ('1984', 'Animal Farm') have historically warned about the potential harmful (to the individual, and to democracy) effects of the creation of large power bases, some of the effects of which have been seen recently in the approach in the UK that some large powerful commercial concerns have had towards individuals, and by the degree of control and 'life interference' that government appears to have sought to exercise - ?
 
Community can be good, as is the mini/micro rural community in these parts, with (most) people helping each other out in a reasonable and natural fashion, and people live in societies, and are, according to the developmental psychologists, not just lone micro-economic 'non caring' entities, but rather social animals too.  In recent times though, seemingly geared more towards 'self-attainment', the social side of things may have got shorter shrift, producing 'lopsided balance' - ? ( the new political administration in the UK appears to be recognising this, calling for a 'fairer society' ). Perhaps such time of turmoil will provide the impetus and vitality to look again at the role and form of the EC, then taking it down an effective road of actually being a 'community' rather than heading towards the 'conglomerate' position impulsed by the 'big is best', big is beautiful' mindsets that seem to have prevailed within modern cultural 'globalisation' movements - ?'

 And perhaps, even, independent 'freerange' approaches could then become more valued ---- ?