West Countryman’s diary

THEmonth of March is said to come in like a lion and out like a lamb and certainly seemed to be doing just that – just waiting for the lamb bit now. I had only recently made comment that all “Mendipers” know if there’s going to be snow, March is when it comes. With that, it did, but it wasn’t long hanging around. As we head into April, Mendip is telling us winter isn’t over just yet.

Daylight hours are the key to success and it’s this and not temperature that starts the growth process within the plant world. I must admit to being just a little thankful that things are being held back. I still have pruning to finish and am relying on the cider apple varieties holding back a little.

No sign of “Herbie” the hedgehog yet; I can only hope that it’s still a little too early or he’s having a lie-in. Hibernation normally ends in April before the breeding season. Those that have survived the winter months will be eager to put on some weight, so the foraging will begin.

The end of hibernation is also a critical time for the adder and us. Warm April days will find them basking on the walls, soaking up as much heat as they can to get moving again. This is when they are at their most vulnerable and possibly their most dangerous! Not having eaten all winter the venom will be particularly strong.

Their normal method of defence is to move away from trouble, but if threatened and cornered they will strike.

Every year I repeat this message at springtime – please look before you sit and put your hand on the wall or on the ground. Make sure your dog is not exploring the scrub and rough areas where the adders might be resting.

Easter falls early in April this year. This is the time when most people start to think about getting out and about. Sue Gearing has been exploring the landscape of Hinton Blewett and Litton in her walk this month and in doing so she crosses Shortwood Common.

Commons are probably the most misunderstood land in the realm, so I thought I would dig into one of my articles from way back in 2005 to explain this quintessential English institution.

“Common land” is owned by someone be that private ownership or an organisation such as the National Trust or county council. It is also amongst the most tightly controlled land in the realm. Our own Burrington Commons which include Black Down and Burrington Ham have 36 byelaws that relate to their use.

These commons have their roots in the manorial system of the Middle Ages, when villeins or serfs were tied to the Lord of the Manor. Villeins (tenant farmers) occupied a social standing somewhere between a freeman and a slave.

Their life was not their own and they owed service to the manor. The good land within the manor was used for crop production and although our villeins had some land allotted, the majority was that of the lord.

The waste land unfit for crop production came into common grazing where those who held rights could keep some livestock.

To this day certain properties around Burrington hold grazing rights. Other rights existed depending on the common, for example the right of pannage allowed the holder to turn pigs onto the common in search of fallen beech nuts and acorns. Estovers allowed for the collection of small branches and under wood for firewood and repairs.

Each of these rights was carefully controlled to prevent over-use and so it was that the manorial system, for all its faults, was a selfsufficient agrarian economy. Those within it were there from birth to death.

That was until the arrival of the Enclosure Acts of the late 1700s and early 1800s. Through various Parliamentary Acts of Enclosure, landowners could bypass the ancient Rights of Common and enclose the land.

This enclosure meant more income to the landowner as sheep and wool production became more profitable. So it was that the only thing to sustain the rural poor was removed from them. There was no longer a place for fowl or beast in the life of the rural poor and those who chose a little “free enterprise” through poaching were severely punished, even to the point of deportation.

So when you next look at a common such as Shortwood or Burrington give a little thanks that they have survived and spare a thought or two for those who have kept them going.

Meanwhile within my garden the springtime power struggle of breeding and territorial rights continues. A couple of male pigeons vie for the dominance of my shed roof. They sidle up to one another and one begins to slap the other about with his wing.

It’s most comical for me but no doubt not for them as they don’t look at one another as these bouts proceed. Once they have finished a pair of male blackbirds take the roof-top arena and chase one another around.

After watching these antics, I give thanks that I don’t have a pair of cock pheasants to deal with. These fellas get so “pumped up” they think they can take on anything or anyone. Then there’s the little owl who will dive bomb anything or anyone who enters into what he considers to be his territory.

This spring thing is all very demanding and tiring, perhaps I had better go and take a lie down!

This month’s photo is Red Devons grazing on Burrington Ham as part of the Rights of Common. The lights are on but I don’t think anybody is at home!