Berkshire Poppies

In addition to being the name of a great track by Traffic, Berkshire Poppies seemed to fit the title of today's post quite well, as the photos below will show. As I hadn't managed to get out at all during the week, I forced myself to do two mountain bike rides this weekend. Yesterday's took me up to Ashmansworth, down then up again into Faccombe, and looping back home via West Woodhay. A pleasant 17 miles despite the greyness and slight rain, and the bonus was coming across this beautiful roadside scene.

Berkshire Poppies

The weather for today's ride however was much better. After having watched The Truth About Widlife last week, it was pleasing to come across a farm which was making use of the financial incentives to devote parts of its farmland to wildlife. The photo below was taken near Hoe Benham and shows the scale of this farm's efforts, but what it doesn't show is the actual wildlife - it was however teeming with butterflies, bees and birds, so seems like the scheme is working.