The moor is potentially at its best now, especially with some sun after all the rain. The grass is green and there are sheep, lambs and ponies and foals everywhere - with a few cattle. There is an abundance of skylarks and pipits and there was a family of Stonechats watching me carefully and sounding their alarm call.

Much as it seems odd, we’ve passed midsummer and the nights are drawing in (although it’s not really noticeable for a few weeks yet) and, unbelievably, they’ll be blackberries out in eight weeks or less. However, we can enjoy what we have for now and the swampy, boggy areas of the moor are full of the stunningly white bobbing heads of the common cotton grass. Of course, as you’d expect, it’s neither cotton nor a grass - cotton grass is a member of the sedge family and there are thousands of species worldwide.

Cotton grass loves the boggy areas of a peat moor. It was used in the past to make the stuffing in pillows and for candlewicks, (as in, wicks for candles) as well as dressing wounds during the First World War. I have to confess, I recall my mother talking about candlewick bedspreads in pre-duvet days but never knew what they were.

Candle wicks are the stringy bit you light in the middle of the candle and are made of a braided material. Candlewick bedspreads are so-called as they are made up of braided cotton elements, including tassles, which I loved playing with as a kid.

Anyway, that means there’s no real link between a bedspread and the cotton grass. The reality is that the presence of the plant shows a healthy ecosystem and provides important feed sources for birds and butterflies. It’s a lovely thing to see that, despite all the modern pressures, the moorland is still in good health and providing a home to a multitude of wildlife.

• Fred Knobbit is a nature blogger. He grew up in the Pennines in Lancashire on the edge of an industrial town but is now safely in Cornwall. You can read his archive at www.bodminblogger.com