No Mow May is round again. We’ve had a No Mow March and April in front of the cottage as we’ve been too busy. It’s great for the orchids. 
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Wonderful!!!
We don’t cut the meadow until late June and then a smaller cut in late Autumn.
Be great if I could borrow a few cows to help out…
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I’m fiercely guarding (ie not mowing) our small patch, as we now have 13 Bee Orchids about to flower this year. (1 the first year, 5 last year and now… 
wow!)
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This lotissement is also under weeds currently and because we are still drought classified, it helps to keep the ground damp. The birds are out in force eating. everything that crawls and the lizards are plentiful too. Unfortunately big raptors are down from the mountains and preying on smaller items but wonderful to see soaring in the sky
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I had planned to cut our orchard-meadow this week, but the rain might put a stop to that.
have you taken a good look to see if you’ve got any “beauties” hidden in the grass?
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Not yet. TBH I might not even get to wander round the field this trip if the weather doesn’t stop being so ‘British’.
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I have a big meadow that gets cut at the end of July by a neighbouring farmer and a much smaller area at the front of the house which doesn’t get cut until all the wild flowers have bloomed.
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That’s what I have been waiting for and I have mowed at last what grass there is in the garden and am now tackling the massive task of controlling the young upstarts of the high brambles cleared by the fencer when I bought the new forest last year.
First job is to search in the undergrowth for hidden logs, chainsawed and stacked, and hidden kindling, added to their own stacks leaving only stuff that won’t jam the rotary blade and stop the motor. Not even a quarter of the way through after several days as it is surprisingly heavy work and I have had to have several breaks on the handy chair at the top corner to admire the treetops swaying to and fro. 
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Be sensible. I was worried about “the breaks” for a moment!
The lawnmower has a full tank of petrol. I need to stretch it because I have filled the jerry can with diesel waiting for Trump to give up and restore normal life.
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Don’t hold your breath… 
The Totale garage in Vire has posted the price of Excelium at 99.99 as a way of indicating that there isn’t any. Now I see Gazole at 99.99 
Intermarche has it at €2,188, C4 @ €2.26
Here in Vire, the absurd little useless patches of grass dotted about and the 60m x 30m rectangle above the house are also in No Mow May. But then they’ve been in No Mow Jan/Feb/Mar/Ap … Dec.
There’s a +/- 4m high dog-leg of steps up to the patch above the house. I shall clear the weeds from there. I haven’t been up to the top step for months. I will have a sign “Terra Incognita. Ici vivent des monstres”
That’s beautiful, @SuePJ . Having a meadow like that is the one thing that might have persuaded me to live in the countryside.
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Possible to create a wild flower meadow in a small town garden.
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Don’t worry @SuePJ , took it slowly and, surprisingly got all the wood clearance completed today. No chainsawing and no brushcutting and felt much better doing it. You wouldn’t think the 2 mechanical phases would require the most effort would you?
All I had to do was push the wheel barrow with occasional breaks to snap and load the small logs and kindling. Wasn’t even bothered by the light rain that appeared to be falling overhead but largely screened from me by the tree cover.
Finished by 5 and invited Jules for a last walk of the day but I did warn him that I thought that straight up and back down within the forest was the best plan as I didn’t fancy getting shorts and legs soaked in the wet grass of the fields. Needn’t have bothered though he chose the forest for the up, and then after 5 minutes surveying the scenery at the top field, turned straight round and back through the trees again.
After we re-entered the top gate into the new forest, I had half an hour left to relax in the chair, so quiet and calm. With all this kindling and small logs stored up there I am sorely tempted to take the small BBQ up there to eat during the dark winter evenings. 
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Agreed. We have just under a hectare but it is not all open, by any means. And I started a perennial wildflower meadow on a first patch of about 3m by 3m. That was hard enough to get all the nettles, morning glory, etc out of before seeding. No flowers yet but the greenery is filling in.
Well the communal gardeners are out in force since last week, streaming, mowing and leaf blowing this lotissement to a pristine state again, just need the central fountains to be allowed to flow again, the kids love it in the hot weather as it does little patterns and they can run in and out of the water