My lunchtime walk yesterday took me to the fields at the end of the lane. After looking over the sheep in the shallow valley, I turned back to wander home but was stopped by a single poppy, its sharp red standing out amongst the surrounding greens. As I walked up the slight rise into the field opposite I came across a view that brought immediate joy and brushed away the generally grumpiness of the hours before.

It wasn’t a stunning red carpet but a softer scattering of poppies amongst the other plants in the field. It gave the impression of a past times when poppies might appear anywhere in the arable fields when they weren’t so finely managed to remove any competition from the farmed crops. We have found fields a few miles away purposely sown with wild flowers which have much great spectacles of blooming. However, this little spot at the end of a quiet lane, hidden away and out of sight, felt more natural and out of the hands of man.

There were quite a few more poppies yet to flower, so I’ll be making more lunchtime trips over the next few days…