Wild Again, not Beguiled Again – an ecological rant.

I am fit to be tied!  A few weeks ago, just as the wild flowers were getting going in the roadside bank below the house, the village maintenance man sprayed the verges with herbicide.   I gritted my teeth and averted my eyes.

Today, just as the grass was recovering and ox-eye daisies had lifted their heads to wave at us, the village maintenance man came along with a strimmer.  I grabbed my sticks and dashed across to confront him.  He’s a very nice man, and I didn’t want to vent my fury on him, so my approach was mild – ish.  He told me it was a question of visibility on the bend – he was strimming on the opposite side and nowhere near the bend – and that he would continue right up past our house, which is on a cul de sac.

He told me to go to the mairie, which I duly did.  The maire wasn’t there, and the secretary – who agreed with me that the action was unnecessary and contrary to the law which specifies two trims a year in Spring and Autumn – promised to tell the Maire tomorrow.

Fat lot of good that will be, as by teatime today we are back in a wild flower desert and the bees’ and butterflies’  larder has been de-flowered.

Here’s what it looked like before:

       
above photos taken here within the last few days: sorrel, ox-eye daisies, scarlet pimpernel, poppy et al, foxglove, vetch, speedwell, acquilegia and dandelions.
        
and these were taken half an hour ago – scalped grass.  

Part of my response to Sally’s wild challenge.