There are some things we take for granted.

For example: each other. We don’t half take each other for granted, assuming, as we do, that our other halves will put up with whatever dirt we dish out to them.

But, only when they frown, only when they refuse to cooperate or even, if we’ve gone too far, leave us, do we stop and think: I really should have treated them better.

And so to a road called Everlands in Cam, when, some time ago now, a whole row of bushes was ripped out from the roadside.

Just like that. One minute they were there, next: gone. And I cannot for the life of me understand why.

See, these bushes guarded the edge of a field used by many sports clubs: Cam Bulldogs Football, Cam and Dursley Tennis Club, and Cam Cricket Club, with the facilities run by Cam Sports Club.

Thing is, the bushes - brimming with juicy, fat blackberries come September, which my kids and I would annually pick - was replaced with a fence, but trouble was that every time a football rolled over to the new fence, the ball would slip on to the road between the fence slats.

Why? Because the bushes were no longer there to keep the ball at bay.

Some time on, and nature has dominated once more by growing tall nettles in the bushes’ place. But the damage has been done: nature has been interrupted.

Sure, the fence looks good, built by a fine chap who’s a cracking builder, yet the question still remains: why were the bushes ripped out?

See, take nature for granted and you will, quite literally, lose your ball. But, mercifully, good news is a foot.

This year, Stroud District is sowing wildflower seeds on road verges around the district.

Over 17 million seeds will be sown on approaches to Stroud, as well as in areas of Cam and Hardwicke. And of course, this means good news for nature, especially for bees and pollinating insects.

The bottom line is this: we should never take nature for granted.

It is our duty to protect where we live, because, treat it badly, rip it out and replace it with wood and concrete, and there will, ultimately, be only one loser in the fight to survive: us.