Brambly Hedge

I went for a walk at Lodge Farm in the gloom and couldn't find any wildlife to photograph. The deer were way in the distance and the fieldfares were flighty. As I returned towards the farm buildings the sun briefly broke through and caught the top of the silos. I was walking in a dip below and decided to focus on the seedheads and brambles of the hedgerow rather than the grain stores and thought of the Brambly Hedge books.

Jill Barklem spent five years on research before she started to write her stories about the mice of Brambly Hedge. Her interest in natural history and traditional rural customs and crafts has spilled over into these chronicles of hedgerow life. I love the illustrations. She lives with her husband and children near Epping Forest. The forest is only about four miles away.

I made a flying visit to Fishers Green and got some nice backlit golden hour shots of waterfowl. I've included a busking swan in extras.