Country diary: Into the woods for the (near) silence of midsummer

Porlock, Somerset: Horseflies and a Buzzard Disrupt the Stillness as Green Turns to Blue

In this serene period of late summer, the woods of Porlock, Somerset are quiet, having completed their main growth spurt and awaiting autumn. The silence is occasionally broken by the distant calls of a young buzzard.

Early one hot morning, as I ride my horse, his neck quickly becomes damp with sweat. The veins on his sleek, bay shoulders stand out as he labors up the hill. We proceed slowly, staying in the shade to avoid the open heath where grasshoppers are active. Despite our efforts, horseflies find us, biting with their serrated mouthparts.

I swat one off my bare arm and another from the horse’s rump, where it’s out of his reach. Each bite leaves a small trickle of blood and an itchy bump, a reaction to their saliva. These horseflies are female, seeking protein to develop their eggs.

To escape the relentless flies, we increase our pace to a trot and move further into the forest. The bracken on either side of the track brushes against us, releasing a strong, savory odor typical of late summer.

As we canter along a grassy path, a faint, unpleasant smell of something decaying in the undergrowth wafts by.

The canopy above has deepened in the past month, now tinged with a bluish hue. Low in the undergrowth, this color turns into blue-black beads—the bilberries, or whortleberries, that are among the first fruits of late summer, ripening around Lammas, August 1st.

Lammas, or “loaf mass,” was historically one of the quarter days in the old agricultural calendar, situated midway between the summer solstice and autumn equinox. It marked the end of haymaking and the beginning of the harvest season. Traditionally, bread was baked and taken to the church for blessing, a practice that may have origins in pre-Christian customs.

The woods will soon enter a short period of renewed growth. Young trees often produce “Lammas leaves,” new shoots that replace those damaged earlier by weather and pests.

Country Diary is on Twitter at @gdncountrydiary.

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