The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady

Last year I posted several excerpts from Edith Holden’s The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady. I recently found a copy of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady and thought it would be fun to share that as well. Here are a few snippets from her April entries.

April 1: Very still, grey day. I went to a little spinney to see a large bush of the Great Round-leaved Willow, which is a perfect picture just now, covered all over with great golden catkins, that light up the copse like hundreds of little fairy lamps.

April 7: Another glorious day. Cycled to Knowle. On the way found some Marsh Marigolds and Blackthorn in blossom. The Tadpoles have come out of the balls of jelly and career madly about the aquarium wagging their little black tails.

April 12: Painted the pony and colt all morning in the field. Very hot sun and cool breeze. Saw a beautiful Peacock butterfly and found some Purple Orchis in flower.

April 15: Easter Sunday. Anther brilliant day. Saw a pair of House Martins, watched some Trout in the Leet and found a Chaffinch’s nest nearly finished in a young Hawthorn.

April 28: Showers of hail and sleet.

She also includes this little poem.

The Cry of the Children
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

The young lambs are bleating n the meadows,
The you ng birds are chirping in the nest,
They young fawns are playing with the shadows,
The young flowers are blowing toward the west—
Go out, children, from the mine and from the city;
Sing out, children, as the little thrushes do;
Pluck your handfuls of meadow-cowslips pretty,
Laugh aloud to feel your fingers let them through!

A lovely reminder to our inner child to take a few moments from what we’re doing and appreciate nature.

Maybe even go tadpoling! I remember being so intrigued by them as a child—first poking globs of frogs’ eggs with a stick, coming back to scoop tadpoles into a jar and watch them swim, and then later catching them when they were tiny frogs that still had their tails.

What’s your favorite part of spring?

Happy April Fools Day!

Until next time,
Lee

July Nature Notes

We’re well into summer, and the illustrations and journal entries in Edith Holden’s The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady have me reminiscing about childhood summers and looking at the current one with greater appreciation.

These butterflies and pink bramble flowers remind me of the times I spent with my grandparents when I was a child. They lived along a gravel country road and I’ll always remember the hot earthy scent of dust and pink wild roses, and the monarch or monarch-like butterflies that frequented them.

Edith’s notes:

July 3rd—There are two distinct kinds of Blackberry blossoms growing here. One with very large pink blossoms with five petals, the other white, with double the number of petals. The strawberries are very plentiful now on all the banks.

My grandmother was terrified of snakes. The sight of one in the garden would send her running for the kitchen, and for my grandfather whose job it was to dispatch the snakes. One of his favorite stories was the time my grandmother and mother abandoned me, a mere toddler, in the strawberry patch with a “big black snake,” although details of the exact size and color were long ago lost in the many retellings of this story.

Edith mentions several snakes in her July notes.

July 19—A Viper was brought in, killed near Vixon Tor today.

July 22—On the way home I saw a dead Grass Snake about two feet long hanging on a bough.

This summer we have a little garter snake living in the hedge between us and our neighbors, and I’m happy to report it is alive and thriving. The robins have been nesting in that hedge all summer, and we’re grateful that our little snake is either too small to eat robins’ eggs and babies, or doesn’t have an appetite for them.

In last month’s notes, Edith mentioned a Dartmoor pony and its foal. Her sketch of mother and baby was included in her July notes. Dartmoor ponies continue to thrive today.

July 18th—Going through the fields to Walkhampton I have constantly noticed a little wren fly out from a certain place in the wall; I thought it was seeking for insects in the crannies between the stones, but today I discovered a nest made of dried grasses, with a number of eggs. This is the latest in the season I have found.

In my neighborhood, the robins are still busy with nests and babies, and the humming birds are once again performing their aerial mating displays. Which tells me we still have a lot of summer ahead of us.

Until next time,
Lee

More Nature Notes

It’s June, spring is starting to feel as though it’s ready to morph into summer, and flowers and flying insects abound. All this has me turning once again to Edith Holden’s The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady, and she has some delightful writings and watercolors for us this month.

June 2nd: Went down to a little stream...Found a great bed of Yellow Irises in Blossom.

Her illustration includes a dragonfly, and just last weekend I caught a glimpse of my first dragonfly of the season.

June 4th: Picked Yellow-Rattle, Pink and Scarlet Clover and saw some Moon Daisies in a field. Gathered Foxgloves.

June 9th: Saw a Painted Lady and a Small Blue Butterfly. Rowan-tree in blossom and Elder-tree.

The name Painted Lady makes me smile.

June 15th: Went to Lowry Crossing to sketch pony and foal.

Her sketch of the pony and foal appear in the July chapter, so you’ll have to come back next month to see it.

Edith cites numerous poems for June. This one is by a poet I’m not familiar with, but I love the rhythm and rhyme.

HoneySuckle
by E. M. Heath

Wreathing honey suckles winding
with the westering sun
Self entwined and twig entangled
bush and briar o’er run,—
What a mass of yellow bloom!
Clustering beads of sweet perfume!
Finger-buds of rose unfurling
Clariontrumps their tips uncurling
Opening to the azure sky
Waxen throats of minstrelsy!

This is pink honeysuckle instead of yellow, and only here for illustrative purposes.

I’m trying to recall if I’ve ever encountered the word “minstrelsy” before this, and I don’t think I have. It refers to a troupe of minstrels, and a clarion is a clear, rousing sound. Both fitting descriptions for honeysuckle of any color, don’t you think?

Until next time,
Lee

More Nature Notes

It's May! Summer's almost here!

Every Friday I usually post Food for Thought recipes, but since there are five Fridays in May and since today is May 1, I decided to introduce this month with more from The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden.

The chapter for May opens with a lovely pastoral scene—ewes and lambs enjoying some spring sunshine and a quiet moment. What a perfect way to spend an afternoon!


Edith’s notes for May include many references to birding.

“I saw a great variety of birds on the moor” (May 1st)

“...found two Blackbirds nests with eggs.” (May 2nd)

“A Pied Wagtail’s nest in a heap of cut granite in the quarry and a Black-bird’s nest in a cleft in the rock.” (May 6th)

She also included numerous references to spring flowers: yellow pimpernel, wood sorrel, blue milkwort, and marsh violets. On May 4th she “Found a ripe strawberry.” I'll bet it was fresh, sweet, and still warm from the sunshine. Luscious.

This illustration really does capture springtime, doesn’t it?

Can you spot the butterfly? I'm not sure I can!

Then there’s the weather. “Eighth day without rain, and sixth of bright sunshine” (May 12th).

I'm with Edith on this one. Winter’s over and we’re seeing an end to the dreary April showers. Finally!

In her May notes, she quotes some of my favorite poets—Tennyson, Milton, and this well-known passage from “Pippa Passes” by Robert Browning:

The year’s at the spring,
The day’s at the morn;
The morning’s at seven;
The hillside’s dew-pearled;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn,
God’s in his heaven;
All’s right with the world.

Happy May Day! I truly hope all is right with your world.

Until next time,
Lee