Oak Apple - Chiffchaff

Three reasons to post this pic. First the chiffchaff, I love these little warblers. Secondly the gorgeous lime-green young oak leaves and flowers. Thirdly the pair of oak apples at the top of the pic. 

The oak apples do look very apple-like, they even have a rosy glow like ripe apples when they are young but they're galls. They form when the flower buds are attacked by gall wasps and provide a home and food for their developing grubs. I was interested to read that oak galls have been used in the production of ink since at least the time of the Roman Empire. From the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century, gall ink was the main medium used for writing in the Western world.

Today's poem is Lightness by Meg Bateman. http://poemsthathurt.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/lightness-meg-bateman-translated-from.html

MB was a 'heavy', brooding, poetic person who wrote in Gaelic. She loved lightness in others but became aware that they found her too intense. The sudden realisation and understanding of this fact gave her a feeling of lightness.