Ladies of the woods

Ladies of the woods,
Swaying, slender, silver limbs,
Shine against dark skies.

The Silver Birch is such a common tree around here, it's easy to overlook it's beauty. This clump really shone out this morning against the dark grey stormy sky. About the only thing which did shine as the sun wasn't much in evidence.

They do make me think of elegant ladies with long white necks ...

Apparently, in folklore the silver birch is known as the Lady of the Woods ...
.. it's twigs are traditionally used to make a Besom broom (like a witches broomstick) ...

"In many places, such as Pembrokeshire (now Dyfed) girls would give their lovers a twig of birch as a sign of encouragement; if they were not so lucky they often got a hazel twig. For a long time the "Besom Wedding" was considered legal and even in the 19th century many Irish navvies still regarded it so. A besom of birch would be held over the doorway of their house, the couple would jump over it and then they were wed."

I suppose that's the origin of the phrase to "live over t'brush" .... who'd have thought!

There's more about it's folkloric history here.

Oh and if you look closely you might spot a woozle ....