The sheep return to Longney

posted in: blossom, grazing, Longney, orchard | 0

Stuart Smith writes to say: that the sheep have returned to the orchard after spending winter at home on the farm. The lambs are a few weeks old, so not at the leaping for joy stage, but seemed to be enjoying the grass and the sun on their backs. Studies have shown that sheep recognise human faces, and this one seems to know our volunteer from last year!

If you leave the track in Long Tyning, you can walk beneath a canopy of apple blossom. The most common varieties here are Bramley’s Seedling and Newton Wonder – both cookers.

Joan Morgan says that when apple trees began to be included in formal gardens by the Victorians, and the blossom came to be valued as much as the fruit, “some of the grandest spring displays were to be found on the prolific cookers”.

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