There are miles of hedges locally - some new hedges, thin, sleek and upright, growing fast, and old ones, beautifully gnarled, twisted trunks and branches, a knotty lattice, topped with fresh green spring leaves. It is into this mossy deformed and curved wood that the birds flit and dart to their cradled nests and for refuge. At the base the litter is deep and soft and the earth dry. There are signs of digging, of nibbling and traces of fur left behind, of latrines and food caches.
They tell us so much, and they're worth getting to know. Today whilst working I've been thinking of their beauty and their stories and thinking of the lanes here, bounded by Hawthorn and Blackthorn, froths of blossom enclosing and protecting. Interestingly, Hawthorns are among the trees most recommended for water conservation landscapes.
Old Hawthorn - a lovely and evocative name for a property - I've been carving the words into stone for a house name plaque to be built into an entrance wall, and enjoyed the lettering. Just wondering though, if it ought to have been in Hawthorn wood.
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I enjoyed this post as I also love the hawthorn hedges, the twisted shapes of the roots. The sign is beautifully carved and what a lovely house name.
ReplyDeleteAlso enjoyed the snail post, maybe they were just eaten by the birds? We have snail patterns across our carpet in one room, find them in the mornings but never see the snail.
Milly
Thankyou Milly - isn't is lovely to find the tracks of creatures, evidence they've been around and now disappeared from our view. I imagine all sorts of what they might have been up to, don't you?
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