Christmas Roses (Helleborus niger) are one of my favourite winter flowers and I was so pleased to find them on sale when I popped into the supermarket this week. I couldn't resist buying some to put in a pot on the terrace.
I am interested in all things astronomical so I just had to sign up for a free, short Open University course studying the constellation Orion. The course started this week with a basic introduction but sadly since the start of the course. the sky outside has been cloudy so I haven't actually been able to see the constellation in all its glory. The course leader, Monica Grady has asked participants on the course to take some photographs of Orion. I'm not sure my photography skills are going to be up to this but I'm waiting for clear skies so that I can at least go out and try.
When I was out walking during the week I came across a beautiful ivy bush (Hedera helix) covered in black berries. Seeing the ivy made me think of the carol "The Holly and the Ivy" and why, although ivy is in the title, it is not mentioned again beyond the first line. I came home and did a small amount of research into the folk law connected with ivy, and into the carol. I read that there may be some lost verses relating to ivy and that there is also an old folk song about holly and ivy in which holly is considered masculine and therefore "good" while ivy is feminine and "bad". I wonder if that is why any "lost" verses ended up excluded from the carol? I can't consider ivy to be "bad": it provides nectar for insects in the autumn when other flowers are in short supply, and berries for birds in winter.
No comments:
Post a Comment