Unexpected Company

I had a short walk this afternoon. It was somewhere close, but following a footpath I have never been along before. It started off down a narrow sunken lane lined wth snowdrops and purple violets, then climbed gently, crossing a lush green field. On entering the next field I passed by these trees. They appeared to have been planted in a random way. I ran through a mental checklist of possibilities. Could it be the remnants of a field boundary, a windbreak, a copse or a landscape feature planted to improve the view from a grand house? Having found good reasons why it was unlikely to be any of these, I thought about the surrounding fields where sheep were grazing. Could the trees here have been planted to provide sheep with shelter and shade in the summer months? Whether or not this is the case I am sure they provide welcome company for the sheep, as they did today for a solitary walker.