Year end

The final weeks of December were cold with brightness and mist fighting for dominance. When either had the upper hand, the effect on the landscape was always of interest, but during the many struggles with each other, the change is rapid and frequent.

Like a mysterious force, often noticeable only by the changes they make, the conservation volunteers are not often seen. As I walked below the east parkland I could here them in the woods above the Serpentine. By the time I had reached the bridge, smoke could be seen rising. And there they were, like a band of ancient wood dwellers, silhouetted against the smoke from the fires they were stoking, carrying branches here and there.

It was the occasion of their pre-Christmas fuddle, with the steam from pans of chilli being added to the woodsmoke. The activity was gentle with groups stood chatting over coffee to which I was invited. I would have stayed for the chilli too, but for the fact the piece of woodland had to be cleared.

It has to be remembered that the parkland is also used for shooting and today it was such an occasion. The many mallard that have been crowding on the Serpentine ponds through the year were being flushed and made to become targets for paying guns. The guns were below us, on the other side of the water. We could see the dogs working to collect the fallen game.

It can be said to be a traditional English country scene. Even the beaters our side of the shoot were dressed in the suit of tweeds with checked short and flat cap, the countryside uniform used by pursuers of wild birds complete with a broken shotgun carried over the arm. It goes without saying that the wellington boots were green.

The year is ending and with fieldfare and redwing adorning the bush and tree tops, but it was a delight to see the bright splash of colour that is a yellowhammer. A buzzard, too, briefly showed itself around the Argyll monument, but only briefly.

The parkland is ready for the new year. The recent snow has flattened the ground which has taken on the appearance I recognise from twelve months ago. The trees are bare, poking their branches against the darkening sky and on Tuesday, 4th January I will start my second full season.