Health&Safety

The Wonders of Nature
by Esther Smith
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It seems that all creation is singing God’s praises here at Crag House Farm, the home of Caring For Life. Spring has arrived and the hedgerows are filling with bluebells, stitchwort and red campion. The new grass is a rich, fresh colour and the trees are displaying every shade of green imaginable.

On a sunny day, a wall of scent hits you as you approach our valley where the gorse is in bloom. Helen, one of our TFJs who is staying on at CFL to work in conservation, was recently feeding the birds in the valley area and encouraged the young people to smell the gorse. They were amazed to smell the strong scent of coconut!

The hawthorn is beginning to blossom and in the early morning, the dawn chorus of the songbirds is deafening, accompanied by the long, bubbling call of the curlews.

Spring was announced in an unusual way! Two white storks were seen over the farm on 5th April. Yes, they were white storks; sightings recorded elsewhere confirmed that white storks were in the area. This was a somewhat surreal but beautiful sight.

Red kites are also often seen over Crag House Farm; three on one recent occasion. A few weeks ago the banks around our sensory pond were lit up by the delicate nodding heads of snakeshead fritillaries, and these were followed by numerous marsh marigolds coming into bloom. On the banks of Moseley Beck in our valley, wood sorrel, bluebells, wild garlic, stitchwort and celandines combine to make a beautiful floral display and our sensory gardens are full of wood anemones and primroses.

Then just a couple of days ago a new bird was seen on the farm and was identified by one of our supporters as very likely being a nightingale.

We are so thankful for the wonderful provision of Crag House Farm and for the wonders of nature that we see here each day. It is our privilege to share all this beauty with those in our care, simply sharing the love of Jesus every day and gradually opening people’s eyes to the magical world around them.

It can be very hard for those who have been rejected, abused and hurt again and again to lift their eyes from themselves and their own problems to enjoy creation. Alan has experienced many problems and hurts, but one of his new hobbies is bird watching from the bird hides he helped to build on the farm. Others are keen to spot species in our own CFL Springwatch competition and Kate correctly identified a chiffchaff!

Today it was a tremendous privilege to take a number of the CFL family to view our very own bluebell wood. The old beech wood stands on Crag Hill, the second highest point in Leeds, with sweeping views across the Trust’s new fields and beyond. We walked around one of the new fields and climbed across the remains of an ancient dry stone wall up into the wood. At the far end of the wood the ground is carpeted with bluebells just coming into their peak of flowering.

We explained how long it takes for a bluebell wood to develop and showed how we will fence in the wood and rebuild the dry stone wall surrounding the woodland, to ensure that the trees and bluebells are protected from livestock grazing the fields. Then we explained how we would plant new young beech trees in the wood, to ultimately replace the old trees and ensure that the bluebells continue to spread. Long after we have all gone, the bluebell wood will be even more beautiful for future CFL generations to enjoy.

Just taking time out of the daily routine to walk through the fields and into woodland with some of those in our care is a great joy. Talking with young men and women about the God who made the world is an even greater pleasure and we are enjoying some amazing prayer times just now, literally praying for people around the world.

We are enjoying the wonders of nature this spring at CFL, and we are privileged to hear people who have been deeply hurt beginning to pray and raising their eyes to see the beauty all around them.


	The Wonders of Nature *by Esther Smith* << previous page It seems that all creation is singing God’s praises here at Crag House Farm, the home of Caring For Life. Spring has arrived and the hedgerows are filling with bluebells, stitchwort and red campion. The new grass is a rich, fresh colour and the trees are displaying every shade of green imaginable. On a sunny day, a wall of scent hits you as you approach our valley where the gorse is in bloom. Helen, one of our TFJs who is staying on at CFL to work in conservation, was recently feeding the birds in the valley area and encouraged the young people to smell the gorse. They were amazed to smell the strong scent of coconut! The hawthorn is beginning to blossom and in the early morning, the dawn chorus of the songbirds is deafening, accompanied by the long, bubbling call of the curlews. Spring was announced in an unusual way! Two white storks were seen over the farm on 5th April. Yes, they were white storks; sightings recorded elsewhere confirmed that white storks were in the area. This was a somewhat surreal but beautiful sight. Red kites are also often seen over Crag House Farm; three on one recent occasion. A few weeks ago the banks around our sensory pond were lit up by the delicate nodding heads of snakeshead fritillaries, and these were followed by numerous marsh marigolds coming into bloom. On the banks of Moseley Beck in our valley, wood sorrel, bluebells, wild garlic, stitchwort and celandines combine to make a beautiful floral display and our sensory gardens are full of wood anemones and primroses. Then just a couple of days ago a new bird was seen on the farm and was identified by one of our supporters as very likely being a nightingale. We are so thankful for the wonderful provision of Crag House Farm and for the wonders of nature that we see here each day. It is our privilege to share all this beauty with those in our care, simply sharing the love of Jesus every day and gradually opening people’s eyes to the magical world around them. It can be very hard for those who have been rejected, abused and hurt again and again to lift their eyes from themselves and their own problems to enjoy creation. Alan has experienced many problems and hurts, but one of his new hobbies is bird watching from the bird hides he helped to build on the farm. Others are keen to spot species in our own CFL Springwatch competition and Kate correctly identified a chiffchaff! Today it was a tremendous privilege to take a number of the CFL family to view our very own bluebell wood. The old beech wood stands on Crag Hill, the second highest point in Leeds, with sweeping views across the Trust’s new fields and beyond. We walked around one of the new fields and climbed across the remains of an ancient dry stone wall up into the wood. At the far end of the wood the ground is carpeted with bluebells just coming into their peak of flowering. We explained how long it takes for a bluebell wood to develop and showed how we will fence in the wood and rebuild the dry stone wall surrounding the woodland, to ensure that the trees and bluebells are protected from livestock grazing the fields. Then we explained how we would plant new young beech trees in the wood, to ultimately replace the old trees and ensure that the bluebells continue to spread. Long after we have all gone, the bluebell wood will be even more beautiful for future CFL generations to enjoy. Just taking time out of the daily routine to walk through the fields and into woodland with some of those in our care is a great joy. Talking with young men and women about the God who made the world is an even greater pleasure and we are enjoying some amazing prayer times just now, literally praying for people around the world. We are enjoying the wonders of nature this spring at CFL, and we are privileged to hear people who have been deeply hurt beginning to pray and raising their eyes to see the beauty all around them.		The pathway down to the conservation valley. The trees have all burst into an explosion of colour. The banks of the beck are looking beautiful. The Fritillaries, Primroses, Marsh Marigolds and Bluebells all add to wonderful colours of nature. The walk to the Bluebell wood was enjoyed by young people, staff and volunteers.