My A-Z posts this year
are based on my garden – flowers, animals, the birds and the bees, butterflies -
with a bit of poetry thrown in. For some letters I am expecting to cheat
somewhat – wishing they were here.
E - Elderberry, Earthworm,
Earwig
This post has no birds – perhaps this is strange because
they do like the elderberries.
Elderberries |
In Denmark
there is a tradition of a female elf in the elder tree. She leaves it at
midnight; strolls around the fields, but returns to it before morning.
Elder Flowers |
The winsome, winsome
elder tree,
Beneath whose shade I sit reclin'd;--
It holds a witch within its bark,
A lovely witch who haunts the dark,
And fills with love my mind.
Beneath whose shade I sit reclin'd;--
It holds a witch within its bark,
A lovely witch who haunts the dark,
And fills with love my mind.
What I did not know about the
elder was its association with death, even Wordsworth recognised this.
The Elder-tree that
grew
Beside the well-known
Charnel house had then
A dismal look
An unsung hero of any garden is one that works below the
ground.
When
the earth is turned in spring
The
worms are fat as anything.
Earthworm |
And
birds come flying all around
To
eat the worms right off the ground.
They say that the early bird gets the worm but worms take a
different view; for them the early worm gets the bird!
Earwigs are readily recognized insect pests in gardens.
Although they can devastate seedling vegetables or annual flowers and often
seriously damage maturing soft fruit, they also have a beneficial role having
been shown to be important predators of aphids.
Female earwig in its nest with eggs |
This nest was found underneath a house brick in a Chester garden.
A silver trail across
the monitor;
fresh mouse-droppings beneath the swivel-chair;
the view obscured by rogue japonica.
Released into the wild, where earwigs dare
fresh mouse-droppings beneath the swivel-chair;
the view obscured by rogue japonica.
Released into the wild, where earwigs dare
Poems:
- The Elder-Witch – George Borrow
- Elder-tree – Wordsworth (Growth of a Poet’s Mind – Book VIII)
- The Worm – Ralph Bergengren
- Where Earwigs Dare – Matt Harvey
Photo attributions:
- Earthworm – 2011; by Rob Hille – Public domain
- Earwig - Nabokov at en.wikipedia – CC BY-SA 3.0
12 comments:
Never did like creepy-crawlies, Bob.
But I know about elderberry... at lest, I know people used to make wine from it.
First time I read about elderberries. It was nice to read about the elf :)
I've always wanted to participate in this A-Z challenge. Too bad I missed it again this year :(
We have all three in our garden. Personally I much prefer our winsome elderberry bush to the bugs but I accept that they're all needed as part of the vital food chain.
Rosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain
An old lady in a village where we used to live made elderberry wine. She was so sweet people thought it must be harmless but many a sore head resulted from over-indulgence. Never made wine from the berries but have made apple and elderberry jelly. Delicious.
Ann
Nice post! I love earthworms, they do great things in my garden. I knew some things about elder, but you've added a couple of folklore bits I didnt know, thanks.
Still don't like earwigs though!
Happy A to Z-ing - and thanks for featuring my book!
Jemima at Jemima's blog
Used to, Rob? They still do. I have a mate who has bottles of elderberry wine and bottles of elderflower wine! You can't walk home after a bottle of that, I tell you.
Haven't I heard of something called Elderberry wine? And I love earthworms, they are sign of healthy soil.
Great photos and love the "Dog in Disgrace"!
Used to know someone who made all kinds of wines including elderberry and elderflower. We used to drink it whilst rehearsing a play that required the actors to drink. Only for rehearsals though, when we were actually on stage we didn't get any.
Not too keen on earwigs or worms.
JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
You had me up until the earwigs. I may quote the Monty Python elderberry line fairly frequently, but I didn't actually know what they looked like before. (I do know they are used for wine). And I like worms fine--they are good for soil, but earwigs are one of those things I have an exaggerated fear response to. I can't think of them without a shiver. Worse than centipedes, even, and that's bad already.
You'd want to keep the earwigs and earthworms away from the elderberry if you were making wine :-)
Pauleen at Tropical Territory
A to Z 2013
Hi Bob .. amazing worm and earwig photos .. and I hadn't realised the Charnel house connection with elderberries ..
Cheers Hilary
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