countryside · crafts & knitting · garden stuff · in the woods · spring · wildlife

May: the fairest month of all

Julie (little Cotton Rabbits)

Peak spring arrives with May, and it’s beautiful out there in the countryside. Although as this spring has been a very dry season many of the trees have noticeably less leaves, so the canopy is currently quite open compared to the full density that you would see after a damp spring. I keep hoping for rain, and we have had a little in May, but not nearly enough.

The lack of rain has also affected the orchard, where there the apple blossom was a lot more sparse than I have seen in some previous years. The hardy hawthorns though have been glorious, and in full bloom from the beginning of the month. The hawthorn tree is woven into folklore and social history, and prevalent in the countryside. Lone hawthorn trees have long been viewed as portals to the fairy realm, and to cut one down was considered to bring bad luck.  And the hawthorn also symbolises love, fertility and protection, with medieval May brides often carrying a posy of hawthorn blossom, also called May blossom, or wearing it in their hair, and branches of blossoming hawthorn hung over doorways to invite luck and prosperity in for May day or Beltane at the start of the month.

Hawthorn also has an English traditional rural name of ‘bread and cheese’ as the plentiful and tender new shoots were foraged and eaten by country folk in bygone times when winter food stores were running low. There is a lane near to one of our walks named Bread and Cheese Lane which still has many hawthorns along the hedgerows there.

Although there seem to be less leaves on many trees the oaks have noticeably larger leaves this year, some almost the size of my hand. Last year was a mast year for the oak trees and they produced enormous numbers of acorns, which takes a huge amount of tree energy, so in the year following a mast year they concentrate energy into leaf and branch growth rather than seed production, which is why many oak leaves this year are supersized.

The hornbeam trees however seem to have decided on this year for their peak seed spreading, as most are festooned with delicate samaras, the winged seeds that will disperse on autumn breezes, they look so pretty swinging from the branches.

Back at home there has of course been knitting, some work on patterns, and more socks. The pair I’m currently working on are knitted in precious stashed yarn from the Wool Barn (sadly Maya is no longer producing hand-dyed yarn) and I’m leaning into my slight obsession for simple stripes. I am playing yarn chicken and hoping that I have enough of the soft blue colour to finish the second sock, it seems to be running out more quickly that anticipated :/

Most of the rest of my free time is still taken up with rebuilding this blog, though I am now only a single years worth of posts away from completing the task. You may remember that my former blogging service typepad closed with very little warning last October and although I was able to import all of the written posts into this new blog here I have had to manually go through and add in all of the images to those posts. There are over 900 posts, and thousands of images so as you might imagine it has been a very time consuming task. But it has also been a rewarding one and I have greatly enjoyed looking back over the last 19 years worth of images. Something that hit me quite hard though was how much life has changed since Toby left school and looking back at images of how family life used to be brought into sharp focus how much less time I have these days to spend on the things that I used to enjoy such as baking and gardening and just pottering around, but I am now trying to weave those small pleasures back into my days again.

Seeing the pictures of how our garden used to look here and here, full of plants and small creatures, made me realise just how much I have missed having a pretty outdoor space that is helpful to nature. Gardening has been absent from my days for quite a few years now and the garden has become a little neglected, so a few new plants have now been added, along with a small bed of herbs, it is a modest start but it will hopefully continue.

Our neighbourhood has suffered greatly from habitat loss over the last 10 years. When we moved here 30 years ago every garden had several small trees and lots of shrubs and most had vegetable patches and varied flower beds. As the older generation have died or moved away these mature and wildlife rich gardens, sometimes lovingly tended for 40 years or more, have been completely decimated by the new neighbours in favour of fence-to-fence lawn (in some cases even the plastic kind) and decking and one neighbour has entirely paved over the whole of their back garden. Gardens are such a vital habitat and source of food for all manner of insect, amphibian and small mammal life, and although our garden is small, I hope to make a better space for nature to flourish a little here at our home. There is at least one wild creature that does enjoy spending time in our garden, Katsue the fox is still a regular visitor and continues doing well after her injury earlier in the year,

Well, I’m off to water the new plants, they need it with this lack of rain, until next time keep well and happy, J x

 

22 thoughts on “May: the fairest month of all”

  2. Julie, once again, you have brought a delightful breath of spring into our homes. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your photos, your compassion for all living things. It’s the smallest moments that continue to give us the greatest joy!!

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  3. Your emails are a joy to read Julie. Thank you so much. I also love my garden so I can understand your sadness about the lack of time you have for gardening. Can I recommend Scented Leaf Pelargoniums, they are a joy to have and Toby may enjoy the sensory experience they can give.
    I look forward to your June blog. Warm wishes, Louise

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  4. I do so enjoy reading your monthly blogs and looking at your photos. I didn’t know about the oak leaves being bigger this year so will make a point of examining our local mature trees. Last year’s mast year produced so many acorns, it sounded like popping bubble wrap when I drove along on my mobility scooter!

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  6. Lovely images Julie! It’s actually very green and lush here in NI but then we do get a LOT of rain 🙂
    So glad your little fox is still visiting!
    Love the socks, hope the blue lasts the course!!!
    Happy weekend, V x

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  7. Awe, Bread and Cheese Lane! I love it. Sorry for all the work with the blog …UGH
    and Katsue 🙂 So glad she is a visitor in your garden.
    Be well, Love from here.
    Thistle be a beautiful day!
    While there is tea there is hope!

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  10. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos! Here in my part of the US Hawthorn used to be a common hedgerow tree but as properties are sold and divided those beautiful trees are seen as a nuisance. It’s unfortunate as they really are beautiful and valuable to wildlife.
    Thank you for all of your knitting stories and advice too. Your wristwarmer pattern inspired me to learn to knit back in 2012!

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  15. So good when your posts pop into my inbox. When I moved here a couple of years ago the garden was fence to fence grass, and I longed for my old, established garden. I’ve planted some small apple trees, some raised veg beds and a flower border so far and really enjoy the birds and insects coming to my growing garden. This morning I was delighted to see a dragonfly! Hope your pockets of garden time continue Julie x

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  17. Beautiful photos. We walk along some heathland and woods behind our house and one day I was excited to see a fox having a nap in the sun behind a neighbours fence.

    I find gardening good for mental health. Gardening is always an experiment to see which plants will thrive. I have been planting more and more plants which are attractive to bees. Sadly I have seen very few bees thus far. The bees like my chive flowers.

    We are now roasting here on the south coast of England so I am watering the garden just enough to keep the plants happy.

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  20. May is my favourite time of the year also hawthorn, cow parsley and horse chestnut my favourites. We have just planted a hawthorn hedge as they may build in the field behind us.
    I hope you find and can make a little time for yourself

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