Country diary: Swallows on the wire, berries in the hedges | Virginia Spiers

St Dominic, Tamar Valley: So far in early autumn, an abundance of ash keys and plump acorns – and the apple and pear trees are heavily laden

At last, Atlantic weather has set in, bringing much-needed rain to green the hard-grazed turf and fields of cut hay and silage. A few late swallows swoop between hedgerows along sky-reflecting Summers Lane, and dart beneath the gate of the adjoining pony-trodden field. Before the rain, a battalion of 50 swallows gathered on wires by Corneale farm, perhaps in anticipation of the journey home.

After the unusually early harvest of cereals (completed by mid-August), the earth beneath the stubble is softened; maize puts on yet more growth and should provide lots of fodder when gathered next month. Livestock farms are self-sufficient in winter feed, but some straw for bedding has been bought from upcountry, costing up to £120 per tonne.

The springs have not yet broken and Radland’s old millstream remains low. We continue cautious use of domestic water, piped from the well, reputedly dug more than a century ago by an expert from nearby Metherell – Mr “Diver” Cullis. According to the engineer of the firm that services our pump and ultraviolet purifier, some of the county’s boreholes have run dry – an ongoing worry for large dairy farms with hundreds of cows and horticulturists growing fruit in polytunnels.

Dark-crowned trees on hedges have put on more leafy growth, setting off this year’s abundance of ash and sycamore keys, red haws and plump acorns. Along the winter-flailed lanes, scarlet berries of honeysuckle, hips and bryony relieve the prevailing dullness of drab greenery and mouldy blackberries. Oak leaves feature dry powdery mildew, and ferns have wilted like the seeding nettles (gleaned on last month’s hottest days by a nearby horse keeper for her valuable mare). Now, muddy rivulets extend from the hedge footings where soggy earth – eroded by ever-wider farm vehicles – merges with prematurely dropped leaves, squashed acorns and hazelnuts.

Downhill, my brother-in-law James has propped up some of the most heavily laden boughs of ripening apples. A cider maker from Killerton is planning to gather some of the prolific crop of pears to make perry; and a group of  orchard enthusiasts from Belgium recently visited this documented orchard of heritage and historic varieties.

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