Trees

This tree must be very old, around the other side it has tunnels under it's roots, a perfect place for foxes etc. but as it is on the gamekeepers patch, there is nothing in there. This was taken on our walk the other morning, it was waterproofs today no weather for a camera.

Blackthorn-Prunus spinosa

Better known as a sloe bush the Blackthorns in the hedge is where we pick our sloe berries for making sloe gin. There are not a lot of berries on the bushes around us this year, so we will probably have to go further afield to collect more.

Norway Maple

These are the paired winged fruits/seeds of the Maple tree. I think they look like a childs mobile, that's the hanging kind not their phone!

Hupeh Rowan - Sorbus hupehensis

According to my tree book this specimen is rare in the British Isles, so I may have got this wrong but the tree certainly met the discription in the book. Any other suggestions?

Rowan Tree - Sorbus aucuparia

A fantastic speciman of a Rowan tree the changing berries and leaves looked as if they had a light glowing under them.

Maple Tree

I loved the contrast of the yellow turning leaves against the other still very green leaves of this Maple tree. What kind of Maple tree it is I don't know, perhaps a Norwegian maple.

The Yew - Taxus baccata

An ancient tree species that has survived since before the ice age. It has been revered and used by humankind throughout the ages. For me the word Taxus will always remind me of the chemo therapy my mother received which was derived from the Yew tree. I am very allergic to the sap so always have to use gloves when handling it if cutting back or making into holly wreaths. I think the berries look like little jewels.

Rowan Tree - Sorbus aucuparia

One of my earliest memories of a tree is a Rowan tree in my grandmothers garden, I thought the berries were magic. According to folk lore the Rowan tree can offer protection from evil spirits. Thank goodness we have so many around our house!

In the yard there grows a Rowan.
Thou with reverent care should'st tend it.
Holy is the tree there growing.
Holy likewise are it's branches.
On it's boughs the leaves are holy.
And it's berries yet more holy.

Excerpt from The Kalevala,
a compilation of Finnish folk lore