I went to do that colouring I was blathering on about yesterday, but the clouds that had been predicted didn't turn up.
I set up the 200 yard length of hosepipe to the scaffold, then - blinded by my own sweat and about to pass out through heat-exhaustion, I thought - fuck this. It is not worth dying for. So I went home, drank about 2 pints of water, lay on the sofa and fell into a delicious sleep.
As I was reeling the hose through the grass, under bridges and over bridges, I noticed some movement on the ground which I initially put down to flies.
I looked a little closer and saw dozens of tiny frogs - froglets - making their instinctive way toward damper, greener grass, so the laying of the hose took about four times longer than it should have as I avoided stepping on them.
A little later, a groundsman called up to me and informed me that he was covering the whole area with a Round-up weed killer and I could not walk on that area again for fear of leaving footprints of dead grass on the lawns he was not going to treat.
"You know there are hundreds of baby frogs where you are standing, don't you?" I called down to him.
"Yes. I have done the survey and there are no newts so it is going ahead. Just bad timing."
Now If I were the groundsman given the order to spray the grass in that area, I would insist on waiting a couple of days for the new-born frogs to leave the area, but some people just have to obey orders.
I am hoping for a counter-active spell of good news soon, but I am not holding my breath.
One thing I can tell you for sure, my Peter would have disobeyed that order.
ReplyDeleteMe too.
DeleteI despair. We have enough evidence of species loss to demonstrate that not taking sufficient care of all wildlife is a slippery slope down which we are quickly speeding. As you say, a few days delay would have been all that was required. Shame on them.
ReplyDeleteIf I had thought about the impact I would have stopped him myself. A lot of birds and animals are going to eat those frogs tonight.
DeleteThe froglets move ' en masse ' as they stand a better chance from predators ..... but not from the predator Round up !!! He could have waited a day or so. XXXX
ReplyDeleteI know. It's so depressing. I now feel guilty for not being more forceful. The crazy thing is that the owners would have not approved had they known. The whole set-up is just too big to keep tabs on the fucking managers.
DeleteDisgraceful Tom - what difference would a day or two make?
ReplyDeleteThey are all Jobsworths.
DeleteDamn!
ReplyDeleteThere are two sorts of people. Those who go out of their way to defend wildlife, and another lot who do the opposite. One just has to hope that the former are in the majority.
ReplyDeleteThere is also quite a large category in between, who nurture the countryside and all it contains at the same time as going out hunting, shooting and fishing. I respect this sort far more than I respect people who just talk about it.
DeleteOh that is jut so depressingly banal
ReplyDelete