tiny forest iv

The end of our garden is a liminal space between rough grass with trees and the upland grazing land in the fields around it. Treecreepers live here - a friend recently said that she thought these birds were fairy-like, so maybe we really do have fairies at the end of the garden? Here also stands the henhouse, once home to elder son's 'lovelies' - pampered hens which were carried around by the children like babes in arms. I once discovered a treecreeper nesting behind the folded-down window flap of the henhouse - the nest was just a long thin bundle of sticks in a narrow crevice.

The henhouse is empty nowadays; hens and children all gone from the garden. Its roof is covered with moss and here's a lichen-covered branch which has fallen on top of it. 

Here's a nice Field Guide I found when reading about lichens as indicators or air quality.