The bales are off

      The hunting ground that was the stubble field has gone, the bales of straw have gone too. Now if the dogs want to fulfil their terrier ratting job description it's time to go to work in the orchard, on the headlands and on the dyke sides. The orchards will be the favourite venue though with all the fallen fruit providing a harvest feast for the rats and then the game will be afoot again.

      The rats have left the wheat gleanings to the pigeons and crows and headed for cover, the days of three or four lethal strikes out in the middle of the field are well and truly over. You can see the boredom and irritation on the terrier's faces and Barney happily peeing on a straw bale sums it up nicely, that's dog body-language for you.
      Now the field has been broken up with the buster and in the next week it will harrowed, then rolled to encourage the black grass to grow and, in turn, that will be sprayed back so that when the spring wheat is sown it can grow without being impeded by a jungle of rampant black grass.
      Meanwhile late summer is steadily rolling into autumn and the colours of the landscape are changing.