A few things to see this month, and a folk tale to read, too
December’s evergreens bring a feeling of hope in an otherwise frozen landscape. It’s no wonder stories have been written around the evergreens for centuries.
Legend has it that evergreens don’t lose their leaves as a reward for their kindness one winter, long ago. Folklore tells that as the birds flew south for winter, one bird broke her wing. With snow falling, she asked the trees for help. The birch, oak and willow refused, however, the spruce offered to let her shelter on its warmest branch, the pine offered to protect her from the north wind, and the juniper offered berries to eat. By spring, she’d healed and rejoined her friends. Having heard what happened, the Frost King told the north wind it must never touch one leaf of the spruce, pine or juniper trees, but should strip the oaks, beeches and willows bare for their unkindness. And that is what happens each winter to this day.
This folk tale was featured on our Almanac Pages, where each month we collate a few seasonal things to note and notice, plan and do. The nature table image above was taken by Alice Tatham of The Wildwood Moth who takes a photograph for our back cover each month, featuring things to appreciate in nature. She also runs workshops on seasonal photography and publishes seasonal journal stories from her home in Dorset.
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