Tag: fairy

November 24th – Returning late gave me an opportunity to feature something here I mean to every year, but rarely get chance to – the remarkable Christmas lights at the house near Rushall Square. 

I usually pass in times of heavy traffic, or frustratingly when they’re not switched fully on but this fiesta of LED light takes place broadly from the end of October until New Year every winter.

It’s not, I have to say, to my taste, but there’s clearly a huge amount of work, time, and no little use of electricity there, so hats off to it and my compliments to the householder.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

August 27th – I noted recently that rosebay willow herb is called ‘old man’s beard’ due to the white, fluffy, wind-borne seeds it spawns at this time of year. Another prolific source of the familiar ‘fairies’ that float on the breeze are thistles, also plants of the margins and hinterlands. Gorgeous at the moment in their downy decadence, they are a food source for small birds like finches, and also for any passing donkeys, who love thistles with a passion.