Weeds?……..The Cairns………A Foxy Tale…. Â
by Bernie Bell - 09:56 on 16 July 2025
Weeds?……..
Our neighbour, knowing how much I love our garden, very kindly gave me a book entitled ‘Garden Poems’ from the Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets series.
In this collection is a poem by J.D. McClatchy entitled ‘Weeds’, which I think is just right.
Weeds
The pigrush, the poverty grass,
The bindweed’s stranglehold morning glories,
The dog-blow and ninety-joints –
They ask so little of us to start with,
Just a crack in the asphalt,
Or a subway grate with a hour of weak light.
One I know has put down roots
As far as a corpse is buried, its storage stem
As big as my leg. That one’s called
Man-under-ground. That one was my grudge.
And suddenly now this small
Unlooked for joy. Where did it come from,
With these pale shoots
And drooping lavender bell? Persistent
Intruder, whether or not
I want you, you’ve hidden in the heart’s
Overworked subsoil. Hacked at
Or trampled on, may you divide and spread,
Just as, all last night,
The wind scattered a milkweed across the sky.
J.D. McClatchy
Reading this collection of poems takes me to a book which centres on a garden – a garden being worked and lived in for centuries - ‘Threading the Labyrinth’ by Tiffani Angus.
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=17040
The Everyman’s book of ‘Garden Poems’ holds the ghosts of many gardens and gardeners.
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The Cairns….
Not only a triple-decker cupboard, but also a large stone tool on one of the shelves - last touched by someone in the Iron Age!......
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2025/07/14/cairns-d26-2025/
https://archaeologyorkney.com/2025/07/15/cairns-d27-2025/
It’s the final few days of the dig folks – get it while you can!
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A Foxy Tale…..
Jo Bourne’s garden has regular visits from a whole clan of Badgers and the odd fox or two.
On Jo’s FB I read…..
“My fabulous next-door but one neighbour Jasonn Reynolds has finally had his children’s book published and has won an award!
He wrote and illustrated the story, all about one of our local foxes who had no tail (scroller friends may remember photos, she was much loved).
Massive congratulations to Jasonn! It’s not out yet so preorder from Waterstones or Amazon.”
What’s the story behind the story of ‘The Fox With No Tail’? ……
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fox-No-Tail-Jasonn-Reynolds/dp/1835385435
Looks good to me.
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