Inspired by Nature

Here We Come A-Wassailing!

December 19, 2022 by Elizabeth Disdel

If you are feeling a bit beaten down by the dreary weather this January, you could start off the new year with a touch of wassailing.

‘What is that?’ I hear you ask. Well, wassailing is the centuries old tradition of encouraging good spirits into orchards, securing a bountiful harvest for the coming year. Such a tradition is often celebrated around Christmas time and into the new year.

With its roots in paganism, you can expect wassailing to involve colourful garments, much talk of spirits, and sharing of food and drink. Revellers will bang pots together, chant rhymes and songs, and cause a ‘hullabaloo’ – such gaiety had a twofold meaning. First, was to ward off bad spirits from the orchards, and second, was to wish those in your community good health for the year ahead. Spending time with those we love, and forming meaningful connections, has an undoubted and much studied link to health outcomes – the pagans really knew what they were doing. In fact, the word ‘wassailing’ itself is thought to have derived from the old English word for health.

Modern wassailing still occurs today – maybe there is a group somewhere near you that you could join and cause chaos within. Scream into the night! Bang together a wok and a spoon! Make music for the trees!

Happy new year!

We’re dreaming of a green Christmas….

November 29, 2022 by Jenny Hooper

Go green this Christmas with natural decorations. Consider bringing the outdoors in this winter and surround yourself with the goodness of nature. There are plenty of garden favourites that we can adorn our households with. You may even be able to ask your local greenspace manager for permission to forage for a few items too.

Sticks and twigs

Something as simple as putting some bare twigs or skinny branches in a vase look great with some led fairly lights wound around them. Try adding a few baubles here and there too. Why not try framing mirrors or picture frames with a few twigs?

Or have a go at creating small decorations out of twigs like these fabulous three ideas from: https://www.diyncrafts.com

Natural greens

Even at this time of year we can find some lovely greenery to brighten up our decorations. Some firm Christmas favourites include ivy, holly, mistletoe and conifers. Tie together conifer sprigs and slot in some splashings of ivy and holly to make a garland. Or to make these into a wreath try and find some willow or dogwood to create your wreath structure and then weave in some of the greenery. Here is a how to: https://blog.bay-bee.co.uk/how-to-make-a-real-christmas-garland/

Or if you don’t fancy having to weave branches all together, you can simply place individual branches down on the surface you want to decorate, or slot in behind frames, or attach to a picture rail. This is probably best if it is out of reach!

Fragrance:

Why not bring in some fragrance from rosemary, bay, thyme and sage. You can include these within your garlands, wreaths or branch decorations or you could create a mini herb wreath. They also look lovely in a vase on their own.

Other popular Christmas fragrances are oranges, cinnamon sticks and nutmeg so try adding these in too.

Colour:

Don’t forget to add splashes of colour to your decorations. There are plenty of winterberries that you can grow in your garden which are also great for the birds so always make sure to leave some behind, these include holly, spindle, rowan and rosehips. You can be as creative as you like or even just add these to glass jars on their own.

The possibilities are endless and we would love to see some of your creations so do send us over a picture or two! Happy festive decorating!

Inspired by Nature: Autumn

October 20, 2022 by Elizabeth Disdel

Written by Elizabeth Disdel- Froglife’s Transforming Lives Trainee

“November comes

And November goes,

With the last red berries

And the first white snows.

With night coming early,

And dawn coming late,

And ice in the bucket

And frost by the gate.

The fires burn

And the kettles sing,

And earth sinks to rest

Until next spring.”

– Elizabeth Coatsworth

This poem by Elizabeth Coatsworth always comes to mind when I think of the coming of November. It’s a sleepy month, really. Not a cosy one, though. To me, the feeling of November is like the feeling of having a bed time when you were young – you’re tired but not tired enough, you’re still a bit frantic from the day’s activities, and you’re just a bit grumpy and sad. In November, Mother Earth seems quite tired, frantic, and sad, too. The temperatures take a dip, the light once spilling a soft and golden glow over the bronzed leaves is now rather grey, and the winds seem to rip through all in its path with a sort of vigorous petulance, leaving not only the branches around you bare, but you with barely any warmth, and the patience of a bear with a headache. It is bare. November is bare.

However, to rid yourself of the grizzly feelings, it is important to keep an eye out for wildlife to brighten your day and restore the warms knocked out of you by that pesky cold breeze. Keep your eyes to the sky as November is the month where the UK welcomes Winter migrant species of birds. For example, the UK is home to approximately 360,000 wintering pink-footed geese, and you can often see them flying in their perfect V formations overhead, making a much-loved racket. Other birds include whooper and Bewick swans, as well as redwings and fieldfares.

Regarding reptiles and amphibians (our true loves at Froglife), remember to try, if you can, to create small deadwood piles in or near your gardens as they are incredibly important habitats for many species as they begin to overwinter. Newts, for example, overwinter underground in damp soil, often beneath piles of logs or stone walls where they can keep as warm as possible.

Whilst November is a grumbly month, remember that wildlife is just doing its best and trying to find places to stay warm for the Winter. Help them out where you can!

Inspired by Nature: Toad Poems

September 26, 2022 by Jenny Hooper

For Halloween our Discovering Dewponds Project Manager has chosen a couple of her favourite poems from the book ‘The Book of The Toad’ by Robert M. Degraaff:

Toads

Dusk comes suddenly on the narrow road

that follows the hill eastward and down. The woman’s

fears are the live pieces of dark that appear

where there was nothing.

In a tree that had been bare, she sees a dozen

great-tailed grackles slanting like eyebrows.

From a deserted hut comes a black feather of smoke

and a low voice.

Between the rocks, the dark is filling with toads:

their breath is the slow rising of the sky

behind her. She fears rain and she fears the toad-dust

thirsty for rain.

But then the evening sidles up to her,

holding out precious stones in a handkerchief.

She draws away from the opals and tigers’ eyes,

sure that she will pay

too much, but he touches her sleeve and she turns.

Below her in the rich light she sees a row

of trees like bubbles of blood welling up

from a cut

and beyond them the sky hunched like a toad

over the town, its skin mottled purple,

black, and vermillion. If this is the dark,

there is no escaping it.

She asks the name of the sky-toad, huge

and lovely. A tongue flickers from his mouth

and now the sun itself is a stone, burning

in his forehead.

Conrad Hilberry

A visit to the Gingerbread House

“Why, sit down!” (So I let myself settle

In a fudge chair.) “I’ll put on the kettle,”

Purred the witch. “Here, just try

Some delicious toad pie

And a cup of hot Hansel and Gretel!”

X. J. KENNEDY

Inspired by Nature: Love Parks Week

June 27, 2022 by Elizabeth Disdel

Written by Froglife’s Transforming Lives Trainee, Elizabeth Disdel

When asked to write an entry for the Croaks newsletter about the nationwide project #LoveParksWeek, my mind immediately jumped (pun intended) to one of my favourite poems…

“When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”

— Wendell Berry

I am unsure if you will feel the same, but this poem means much more to me after lockdown than it did before. Whilst the world seemed to be crashing into chaos, green places became places of solace for many. Green spaces are often (correctly) touted as being infinitely important for wildlife – with many species relying on them to protect against destructive habitat fragmentation and protect their space to exist within a sprawling metropolis of concrete triffids and fast-moving cars. Whilst this is true, and so important, we must remember that these spaces are for humans to find peace within too. We are not as far removed from the natural world as we might think we are or try to be.

Parks are reminders that all beings, both human and other, can live in accordance with Mother Nature and as One.

Why I love Snakes! – A poem

June 12, 2020 by admin

Adder, smooth or grass snake by name,
Our native snakes are not all the same.

The adder’s stylish zig-zags black

Make a splash along its back.
The smooth snake, who is rare to find

Has smoother scales than the other kinds.

The grass snake is the last of the three,
They love to swim – it’s a sight to see!

Snakes may have a difficult time,
But seeing one is just sublime!

Poem written and shared with us by Bethan Davies

Inspired by Nature

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