As I drove over to the first party today, I thought how yellow the countryside is in spring. And then I looked at the hedgerows and trees and thought again about why I felt that. It’s the oilseed rape in flower now, of course. But a good many of the early flowers are yellow – primroses, daffodils, dandelions, buttercups, cowslips and so on, and some of the early leaves on some trees, such as oak, are distinctly greenery-yallery. I looked again at a lot of pink and white, with a modicum of blue and a whole lot of green and actually, it’s just so many fields of rape that colour – heh – my judgement and maybe it’s not really true after all.
The first party was an Easter egg hunt at Weeza’s boss’s place (he and his wife are also friends, and were so before she worked for him) and there were lots of children and vast amounts of eggs hidden, which were then – of course – hunted for. Then we went over to Weeza and Phil’s place for lunch. There were fifteen in the party, the whole family.
I’m very glad we don’t have a field of rape in the village. Smelly stuff, it makes me sneeze.
Until Rapeseed fields covered the country, this time of the year was yellow and blue. Forsythia, Planta Genesta and Daffodils were complemented by Bluebells and Forget-me-Nots later to be joined by Lilac and Aubretia, which were followed by pink and white blossom, Apple, Pear and Cherry, with new delicate green leaves hiding amongst them, followed by Hawthorne , May, Horse and Sweet Chestnut.
How beautiful Spring is, even the Rapeseed fields, which look spectacular from the distance, especially against a dark grey sky. Unfortunately, close up, their “scent” is pungent, over powering, and to me, actively unpleasant.
Years ago, fields of yellow in East Angular were growing mustard for Colman’s and we liked to see them. Now – though I suppose the mustard is still grown, it’s indistinguishable from rape – it’s only appealing from a great distance. Your lovely description of our beautiful countryside (both in the country and in town, come to that) is spot on!