Given the dryness of the past couple of months – March 2022 was one of the driest on record, April saw only one-third of the average rainfall – there’s an old folk saying which comes to mind and which might prompt all gardeners to take precautions to collect as much rainwater as possible before a probable hosepipe ban is brought in over the summer: “Oak before ash, you’re in for a splash; Ash before oak, you’re in for a soak.”

Perhaps because of the oak’s size and presence, much of its folklore concerns specific, individual oak trees. Many parishes used to contain what became known as the Gospel Oak. This was a prominent tree at which part of the Gospel was read out during the Beating of the Bounds ceremonies at Rogantide in spring. In Somerset stand the two very ancient oaks of Gog and Magog. These were named after the last male and female giants to roam Britain. The trees are reputed to be the remnants of an oak-lined processional route up to the nearby Glastonbury Tor. The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest is purported to be the tree where Robin Hood and his Merry Men hatched their plots. It is now a popular tourist attraction although this particular tree probably does not predate the 16th century.

Forest - Health benefits

It is March, almost April, and I return to these notes. Work on the adjacent derelict half of my cottage moves ahead, with its solid new roof, window-frames fitted, traditionally done by my neighbour, a master builder.

The most brutal example a long gap in June-July 2002 which we gradually learn was due to an unsuccessful suicide attempt, followed by treatment both for the self-inflicted injuries but also ECT therapy. Young girls in Northern Counties eagerly awaited the first blossom and the girl who found it would break it and leave it hanging. That night she would dream of her future husband. If she found it again she would keep it as a charm until her husband appeared. Rowan More recently, the image of an oak tree has appeared on the reverse of the pound coin and the National Trust uses a sprig of oak leaves and acorns as its emblem. ‘The Royal Oak’ is also one of the most popular names for pubs in Britain! Can’t begin to write what it actually feels like – even writing that I can’t do so is soberly expressed, declining the desperation that washes through me.

Ash before Oak

But the study of phenology (nature’s reponses to seasonal changes) has been recorded by naturalists for a fair few centuries. Whilst their data isn’t as extensive, these nature diaries are valuable observations with which to compare more recent data. Low-key and understated, this beautiful book ... is a civilised and melancholy document that slowly progresses towards a sense of enduring, going onwards, and even new life. It feels like a healing experience.’ Dịch, Giải Chi Tiết & Từ Vựng IELTS Cambridge 16 Test 3 Passage 1: Roman Shipbuilding and Navigation Slightly forced' because of the 'current ... living' instantly dates the passage: Austerlitz was published in English in September 2001, and tragically Sebald, also my then 'favourite amongst living writers' was to die on the roads of Norfolk on 14th December, a fact his diary has the narrator learning on the 17th from a friend. He notes: The Field Studies Council analysed data on bud burst of the two species between 2000-2016 and compared it to meteorological data and in doing so they found a correlation between years when Oak came into leaf first with those which experienced a warmer springs.