Around the house the flakes fly faster,
And all the berries now are gone
From holly and cotoneaster
Around the house. The flakes fly!--faster
Shutting indoors that crumb-outcaster
We used to see upon the lawn
Around the house. The flakes fly faster,
And all the berries now are gone!
'Birds at Winter Nightfall' - Thomas Hardy, 1840 -1928
The illustration is by Cicely Mary Barker.
There's lots of cotoneaster berries left in my garden, the blackbirds love them.
ReplyDeleteThe blackbirds do find them most tasty Jo - our residents have scoffed the lot already.
DeleteI have a huge cotoneaster tree in front of the bedroom window and the blackbirds and field fares sit in it and strip it of all its berries once winter sets in proper. It's a wonder they can fly after they have gorged themselves.
ReplyDeleteOh would love to see field fares here Elaine. Perhaps they have a little siesta after eating and before attempting take off.
DeleteThay's a lovely poem which I've never heard before.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Katarina - glad to have introduced you to a new to you poem :)
DeleteMy cotoneaster berries are all gone now, mind you, my blackbirds are looking rather fat!
ReplyDeleteSome rather chubby blackbirds around here too Pauline but it will no doubt stand them in good stead, especially if we have a hard winter.
DeleteLike the poem. The blackbirds have devoured the cotoneaster berries in our garden early this year... does that mean it'll be a hard winter?!
ReplyDeleteThanks Cathy. Not sure whether it means that we are in for a hard winter or whether they just could not resist such sweet juicy berries.
DeleteI think cotoneasters are quite under-appreciated plants. I once saw on a GW programme a garden near Leeds that had created a stunning hedge from a particular variety.
ReplyDeleteWith flowers that are bee magnets and such glorious red berries they have a lot going for them WW. My mum has a small cotoneaster hedge (horizontalis I think) just in front of the garage - think it was more by accident than design but it looks great.
DeleteI love my Cotoneaster lacteus. It's in full berry right now and will remain that way until next April. The birds don't seem to like them. The Aronia berries, are a different story though. I'm always seeing robins munching on them.
ReplyDeleteOh will have to look into cotoneaster lacteus forthwith Grace :)
DeleteNo berries left here - too many hungry birds! I loved seeing that illustration, I remember it from a book my grandmother had and used to get out for me to read when we visited.
ReplyDeleteA special book for a special visitor Janet and no doubt a treat to look forward to when you visited your grandmother :)
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