I recently read about an interesting link between Lapwings, a popular fenland bird, and Easter eggs.

The image of two fondling love birds on a Valentine’s card may be considered very cheesy by some. But there is a strong association between birds and Valentines day in folk traditions.

Mistletoe is a classic plant of Christmas decoration. It was considered rather magical because of the way it grows as if floating in trees. In reality mistletoe is hemiparasitic meaning it takes nutrients from trees in order to grow. The seeds are spread via birds who eat the berries and wipe the sticky seeds from their beaks onto the branches where they take root and grow. Mistle Thrushes get their name from the plant but Blackcaps are the most voracious consumers of mistletoe according to the British Trust for Ornithology.

Leave the last apple on the tree for the apple tree man.

Our modern relationship with hedgerows is largely positive with the popularity of foraging growing as people strive to reconnect with nature and the past. However I was surprised to find that hedgerows were often feared in the past as they symbolised boundaries between the safe, ordered fields and the wild world beyond.

You knew he was near because you heard the sound of rushing water and the cry of the Lapwing.

“ I am a fenlander, a true fenlander. All true folk of this area carry this token and if in need are sworn to help, unto even their own death, another who carries a grey goosefeather.”

This illustration was first inspired by the true account of Elizabeth Woodcock, a Cambridgeshire Woman who, in 1799 got buried in the snow where she remained, alive, for 8 whole days before being rescued.

Have you ever noticed, in the early part of the year, how as the days begin to grow longer, the wind blows colder and harder?

Swans were forbidden. Nobody knew why. There were rumours of sinister ancient magic.

“One night in the fens the moon became curious about the tales she had been told of the many monsters that dwelled in these marshy lands and she wandered too close…”