Has this ever happened to you? You’re just sitting there, shaping a cloak, when this pesky carrion crow flies in to perch on an oak branch. Fol de riddle, lol de riddle, hi ding do. So, of course, you tell the wife to go get your old bent bow so you can shoot the bugger, Right? Fol de riddle, lol de riddle, hi ding do.
But, dang it, you miss the carrion crow completely and end up whacking the sow instead! Come on kids… Sing heigh ho, the carrion crow! (Nursery Rhyme from 1880)
This charming little verse, from 1897, may just explain why some birds go extinct.
Did that really say: ‘Did you ever puts rats in the rain-barrel, to give poor old granny a scare?’ Good times!
I think this particular Nursery Rhyme, from 1907, illustrates the not so common adage:
The weedy word dispatches the bookworm.
‘A Man of Words… and not of deeds,
Is like a garden full of weeds;
And when the weeds begin to grow,
It’s like a garden full of snow;
And when the snow begins to fall,
It’s like a bird upon a wall;
And when the bird away does fly,
It’s like an eagle in the sky;
And when the sky begins to roar,
It’s like a lion at the door..
(Okay, maybe reaching just a bit, but so far so good…)
And when the door begins to crack,
It’s like a stick across your back;
And when your back begins to smart,
It’s like a penknife in your heart;
And when your heart begins to bleed,
You’ re dead, and dead, and dead indeed.’
There you go, be forewarned and simply don’t be ‘A man of words and not of deeds,’
or else… ‘You’ re dead, and dead, and dead indeed.’
Exactly how words will inevitably become a penknife in the back is a clearly calculated.
This Bronze Age, 374 feet (110 m) long, 3000 year old, man-made, prehistoric Hill Figure Figure is located in Uffington England. The figure is deeply carved onto the hillside and packed with white chalk. Traditionally the figure was religiously ‘scoured’ every 7 years by the local community removing all weeds and encroaching vegetation thereby maintaining its pristine silhouette for three eons.
(According to: http://www.berkshirehistory.com/archaeology/white_horse.html) ” the Uffington creature whose existence is first recorded in the cartulary of Abingdon Abbey, dating from King Henry II’s reign. There is a reference to land near ‘White Horse Hill’ which had been inherited by one Godric Cild in 1070s. In the 1180s, Ralf de Deceto wrote a tract proclaiming the horse “and its foal” to be the 5th wonder of Britain! And in later works it was promoted to 2nd place, only being narrowly beaten by Stonehenge. No further mention of the figure is made until a passing reference by Camden in 1586. Thomas Baskerville’s Travel Journal of 1677 was the first to record that the horse was kept in good repair by the locals. Whilst, by 1813, drawings had begun to appear showing a creature not dissimilar to that we see today.”
Above the figure are the remains of the Iron Age Hill Fort – Uffington Castle and several bronze-Age monuments. The nearby Dragon Hill, suggested as some sort of Iron Age ritual site associated with the nearby hill-figure, proclaims to be the actual spot where Saint George Slew the Dragon. Although referred to as a Horse… With those fangs, reptilian tail and suggested crouching posture, upon the back legs, I can only see a Dragon. “Dragon?” You say Mary? Well, yeah. Dinosaur bones where not identified as an extinct, terrestrial species until 1664. Before then all gigantic fossil bones were attributed to Giants or those Mythical, reptilian creatures were called Dragons. Dragon bones were discovered as early as 3000 BC in China. In fact, Dragons have a 5,000 year longer written and oral ‘History’ than dinosaurs. Who Knew?
My neighbor across the way has a Fairy Ring in his side yard. The circular pattern of the Marasmius Oreades is created when the mushrooms are left to grow unhindered. (Kind of like the round, moldy fuzz that forms on a forgotten orange.) The rings reoccur each year, and their diameter slowly increases. A ring can start when a single mushroom drops its spores around itself. Subsequent generations grow only outwards, because the parent colonies have depleted the nitrogen levels. ‘Some of the oldest living mushroom colonies are fairy rings growing around the famous Stonehenge ruins in England. The rings are so large that they can best be seen from airplanes.’ (Source: www.fungi.com)
I can see the Fairy ring from my second floor window. I was taken by the thought that from this height and distance it could be an ancient stone ring, like those scattered all over the British landscape. Very little is known about the prehistoric builders of these mysterious constructions. Every centuries old community has its own nearby ruins and local legends surrounding their creation. The sheer number of these stone rings was not realized until the advent of flight. The first aviators, who soared high above the rocky landscape, were astounded by these Bronze Age Standing Stones and Earthworks, some partially obliterated by 4 thousand years of continual plowing. The vast dimensions of some prehistoric stone circles can only be appreciated from high in the air or, maybe, gazing down from a distant hill top?
Although no actual historical facts remain about the original purpose of these elaborate rings, I have to think they are connected to the two most impressive natural circles visible to prehistoric (and modern) humans. The Sun and the Moon. These early people couldn’t have imagined what we now assume is common knowledge regarding these 2 celestial bodies. They must have considered them extraordinary. A perfect circle piercing the sky! Off worldly beings? Gods with round faces? Or did they notice the striking similarity with the circular shapes of the iris and pupil in the human eye? That wildflower with its pretty white petal rays and sunny, yellow, circular center is commonly called the daisy. Was it once, like the Sun, called the Day’s Eye?
The legend continually associated with the mushroom ‘Fairy Ring’ is that it is a time portal. Once you are lured into, or foolish enough to step willingly, within the Fairy Ring- Time is Suspended. When you step back out, after a magical night of Fairy feasting, fun and dancing, anywhere from a 100 to a 1000 years have passed in the real world but you didn’t age. Does this thousand year old legend remind you of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that allows for time travel into the future, going at high speeds then returning to earth only aging slightly compared to your peers? I find the similarity striking! So what exactly might this say about the purpose of the prehistoric stone circles? Hummm… Not sure?
This is Omphalotus Illudens called the Jack O’Lantern.
I took this photo of a cluster of fungi that sprang up seemingly overnight, just around Halloween, on a soggy slope in the yard. It was huge (4 inch heads) and so sickly, nuclear orange that it looked like an Alien being. I’m still not exactly sure it isn’t. I have never happened upon anything so wonderfully weird in Nature. I was enthralled by how horrific and creepy the huge growth was. Talk about the origins of out-worldly legends of Fairies and Dark Creatures cavorting in the night. It was spooky and magnificent! The photo doesn’t begin to capture the size, surprise and neon color I experienced as I walked over the rising and saw this THING. Wow. Nice job Mother Nature.
My niece’s elementary school class put together a book called World Peace to send to the President. They asked their families and friends to contribute a page. She asked me to do something arty. John Lennon ‘s words came immediately to mind.
This Fairy Tale had to be scanned directly from the 1865 book to be believed. I know I wouldn’t be willful after hearing this!
Little Red Riding Hood is a classic children’s fairy tale character. Back in 1870 she was known as Little Red-Cap and had a very different story. Quotes from Old, Old Fairy Tales. “There was once a dear little maid whom everyone loved directly they looked at her, especially her granny loved her dearly, and couldn’t give the child enough presents. Once she gave her a little jockey cap of red velvet, and because it suited her so well she always wore it and was known in consequences as Little Red-Cap. One day her mother said to her. ”Come Little Red-Cap, here are a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to poor, sick granny and the good things will cheer her up. Start before it gets very hot, and on the way walk prettily, like a gentle little girl, and don’t run or you will fall down and break the bottle and poor sick granny will get no wine. Veer not from the path and look neither to the right or left beside you.”
But you guessed it, Little Red-Cap ignored her mother’s warning and did not stay on the path. “She spied a field of posies and thought to take poor, sick granny a nosegay to cheer her and so she ran off into the meadow. She knew not the Wolf was there until he stood right before her.”
Some versions are cautionary tales that stop right here. Red-Cap didn’t listen to her mother and thus is, deservedly, gobbled up by the hungry wolf. The End.
Other versions take Little Red-Cap a little further. “Where are you going so early Little Red-Cap? To poor, sick granny’s my basket heavy with cake and wine. Where does your granny live? Let me carry your heavy basket for I know a short cut. ”The Wolf thought to himself, “Innocent little darling! She will be a tender, plump morsel” Little Red-Cap follows the Wolf further and further in to the darkness of the woods where he turns suddenly and eats her in one bite.
‘The Wolf then went straight to the grandmother’s house, lifted the latch and went in. “It tis I little Red-Cap.” he whispered in the dim light. Poor, sick granny raised her face for a kiss. As her check touched the Wolf’s hairy snout he bared his fangs and swallowed her whole. The Wolf having thus finally satiated his appetite lay down on poor, sick granny’s soft feather bed and snored uncommonly loud.” Some versions conclude with this happy ending. [sic]
But where the heck does that kindly Woodsman who rescues them both in our modern story come from? I found him here: ‘Just then the Forester was passing the house, and said to himself, “How the old woman is growling in her sleep! I’ll look in and see if anything is the matter.” So in he went and saw the Wolf lying in the bed . “So I find you here, you old Sinner!” He exclaimed. I have looked for you a long time. He aimed his loaded gun, but suddenly it occurred to him that the Wolf might possibly have gulped down the old woman. So instead of shooting, he took a great pair of scissors from his belt and began to rip up the sleeping brute’s belly. After 2 cuts of the scissors a little red-cap began to appear, and in with a few more snips the owner of it jumped out and cried” Oh I was so frightened. It was so dark; you can’t think how dark and wormy it is within the belly of the beast.” Then out came the poor, old sick granny, who was already dead from fear.
The Forester bade Little Red-Cap fetch in great haste hot, glowing, red stones from the hearth with which he filled the Wolf’s now empty belly, and when the Wolf woke up and wanted to be quickly off the stones were so heavy that he fell back on the bed and was slowly roasted from within. The Forester enjoyed the cake and wine and Little Red-Cap said to herself, “Never again in all your life will you run off into the wood instead of keeping to the path as mother told you.” The End
There are many traditional fairy tales that use the color red to signify evil and danger. The Evil Queen gives Snow White a poisonous red apple. The deathly red dancing slippers already mentioned. Poor Dorothy who puts her self and her friends in danger by wearing the Ruby Slippers. There are also those poisonous Red Poppies. This may be a subliminal reference to blood and fire and may also be used to instill in young children an aversion to unfamiliar things colored red.
Poison oak and Ivy leaves turn a brilliant scarlet in the autumn.
Many red berries like climbing nightshade are toxic.
Red Baneberry, holly berries and yew berries will make the eater sick. The stunningly attractive Fly Agaric mushroom is deadly.
Red is commonly used in movies to foreshadow that something bad is about to happen, for example, domed character will walk past a red door that came out of nowhere. I was telling Tessa about this use of red as we were watching Jaws. As if to make my point, the little boy at the beginning who is about to be eaten by the shark, walks across the beach in a …you guessed it…red bathing suit. If you start looking for instances of red at climatic moments in movies you’ll be surprised at how often it’s used.
Darth Vader’s light-saber was red. The good guys had blue energy. In the Sixth Sense the color red is on screen only when dead people are in the scene. (I had that movie pegged within minutes. I saw it with someone who had already seen it and told me I was going to love it. I turned to him during the first seen with Bruce Willis and said “He’s dead too right?” Lame!
