Countryman's Diary

A carpet of these flowers in full bloom is a sight to treasure - a timely visit to the Stray (probably in March) at Harrogate will provide wonderful evidence of their springtime beauty. Much later in the year, during September and October, we may be fortunate enough to see the flowers of the autumn crocus, although this is quite a rare plant, being found chiefly in the Midlands and North-West of England where it favours meadowland. However, the narrow leaves of the autumn crocus, identified by a white stripe on the underside, make their appearance during the spring and by the time the flower blossoms, they will have died away to leave a solitary short-stalked purple flower.

St Valentine's Day is also Plum Shuttle Eating Day. Plum shuttles are dough buns shaped like shuttles and made with caraway seeds and currants. These were sometimes known as Valentine cakes and were given to youngsters who knocked on one's door at sunrise to wish the sleepy householder "Good morrow, Valentine".

On three occasions within two days while walking in the countryside, I spotted skeins of wild geese flying in formation. I spotted two within minutes of each other, and the third the following day.

In the first instance, my attention was drawn to the birds because of the noise they were making. My initial reaction was that some farmyard geese had been disturbed beyond a nearby hilltop for I could see no sign of any birds, but as the cackling sounds continued, I realised they were getting closer. At first, it was difficult to pinpoint the direction from which the sounds were coming but soon the familiar V-shaped formation of about 20 geese made its appearance over the horizon.

They flew with surprising speed, cackling the whole time, and their flight formation was extremely neat and by no means ragged. In almost stately fashion, they flew towards the east as if heading for the coast, and within minutes they, and their noise, had vanished. The second skein appear soon afterwards, again with lots of cackling and some slight disorientation on my part; it was not easy to know from which direction they were approaching but eventually I spotted them flying above some trees and this time they were heading north. I'm sure they were not those I had seen earlier - it was a much larger group of birds, probably numbering 40 or 50, and these were flying in a more ragged formation.

I saw my third group during my morning walk; this was a larger formation and infinitely more noisy, and they were heading north-west, away from the coast and perhaps heading for an inland water, such as the Sheepwash at Osmotherley.

In none of the cases could I identify the species. It is quite possible that the largest group comprised Canada geese. These are present in this country all year round and they do frequent inland waters where they are particularly prominent in parklands. Although these are wild birds, they can become very tame, hence their popularity among ornamental waterfowl, and they can be easily identified by their distinctive black necks and white chins. As their name suggests, these were introduced to this country from Canada, probably in the seventeenth century.

The smallest of the skeins might have been greylags. While some wild geese fly in rather ragged formations, greylags tend to be more tidy. Although they are present all the year, they are more numerous in the North. As their name suggests, they have all-over grey plumage and prefer wilder places such as moorland and hills with plenty of patches of water. These are probably descendants of the domestic farmyard geese, and their cackling noises sound very similar to those made by the latter.

Our winter-time wild goose population does include other species such as the bean goose, the pink-footed goose, the white-fronted goose, the barnacle goose and the Brent goose, but these are far from numerous. Some of them prefer to spend their time around our coastline while others might be seen in the more remote areas of the Western Isles, although some may venture inland to feed upon pastureland - and infuriate landowners because of the mess they make.

Nonetheless, skeins of these might be heard or seen flying overhead at this time of year, although positive identification can be difficult at such a distance.

In hearing the rather eerie sounds of high-flying geese, especially when they are out of sight, it is easy to understand how our forefathers thought the noise came from sinister creatures. In many areas, these noises were thought to come from Gabriel's Hounds and in some countries, it was thought the sounds came from the tortured souls of children who had died before being baptised. They were believed to roam the heavens until the Day of Judgement.

In Scotland, it was believed the sounds came from a character called a whaup, a long-billed goblin which haunted the eaves of houses during the night. Or, of course, other peculiar sounds might come from night-flying curlews.

There has been further correspondence from the Chronicler of Kelderdale who reports yet another rumpus in this remote and fanciful northern village.

A couple called Mr and Mrs Wowler came to live in Kelderdale, Mr Wowler having retired from a lifetime's career as an accounts clerk with a gas board in the south of England. The pair have written to the parish council, and have also sent letters to the local papers, demanding that Kelderdale be designated a smokeless zone.

The problem appears to have reached a climax over the Christmas and New Year period when most of the indigenous residents burned logs on their domestic fires. This produced clouds of scented woodsmoke which wafted around Kelderdale, causing some local gentleman to comment: "By gum, yon's a healthy looking smell. Thoo can't beat a bit of apple wood for makking good smelling smoke, or a bit of hesh for bonning bright, while a bit of awd pine gives off a good crackle."

In debating the issue, the parish council was informed by the chairman, Adolf Unthank, that a charter dating to the time of King Edward III (1312-1377) permitted the citizens of Kederdale to freely take wood from Kelderdale Hagg for the purposes of light, heat and cooking, and for building fences, gates and roofs.

"This charter," said Coun Unthank, "therefore gives us all the right to burn wood at all times, and when we do that, we're bound to make a bit of smoke. There is no smoke without fire, so I have been told on good authority, and so this council will not proceed with the proposal to declare Kelderdale a smokeless zone."

Mr Wowler objected and said he would consider his rights under European legislation, maintaining he had the right to live in a smoke-free area and adding that he would seek a grant from the National Lottery so that he could fund his campaign for a smokeless Kelderdale. "I will never give up!" he maintained.

Upon hearing this, Joseph Attaboy, a member of the public who was attending the meeting, leapt up and shouted: "I live next door to that Wowler chap and he does nowt but grumble from dawn till dusk. Now, I've a pile of wet leaves which want burning on my bonfire and I'll light up when t'winds in t'right direction, and mebbe I'll smoke him and his missus out. They allus say that a bit o' good smoke is good for driving pests away, and I reckon if King Edward was still here, he'd agree with that."

Coun Muckraker advised Mr Attaboy not to take the law into his own hands, but added that so far as he knew, bonfires in Kelderdale weren't against the law. He added that if Mr and Mrs Wowler felt their grievance had not been treated with due respect, they could always move to Milton Keynes