Country diary: The may blossom has been spectacular this year | Virginia Spiers

St Dominic, Tamar Valley: I am out early to complete fixings of new nets on the fruit cage, hoping for rain to swell gooseberries, currants and raspberriesThe may blossom has been particularly spectacular and long-lasting this summer, with swags of flowers (mostly white, some pink) overhanging hedgebanks beside narrow lanes and around little fields below Hingston Down. The previous succession of fruit blossom - sloe, plum, pear, cherry and apple - was prolific, but set is sparse, as blooms coincided with low temperatures and few pollinating insects.In this current dry session, the sun shines hot from mid-morning, so I am out early to complete fixings of new nets on the fruit cage, hoping for rain to swell gooseberries, currants and raspberries. A swarm of bees flew in before the end of May and took over an inaccessible space in the barn roof. Blackbird, chiffchaff, wren and blackcap are most voluble in the early and late coolness, but predatory crows, squirrels and magpies are on the lookout in this enclave of wooded and overgrown land. Continue reading...