On A Stick

From time to time I get asked about the stick that creeps into my photographs…. What stick?

Oh that stick.

That is my walking stick. A few years ago I hurt my back and strangely that left me with a stiff and also wobbly leg.

Even if you don’t have a wobbly leg it is a good idea to have a stick because the UK is full of puddles and it is always better to know how deep they are before you step into them.

My stick is nothing special. It is a piece of Hazel with Honeysuckle twined around it and a bit of antler for a handle.

I bought it for twenty pounds from an itinerant stick maker soon after I arrived in this area.

I knew straight away what it was and it reminded me of a place that I used to call home. It was just something that I had to have.

Honeysuckle will twist wood.

Probably the most important thing to know about Honeysuckle is that it keeps evil at bay. That is an excellent property to have in a stick and it must work because we are never troubled by evil.

The other thing that was important to me was that the little piece of woodland that I used to own was full of Honeysuckle.

The best thing about Honeysuckle is that it is sweetly scented and in the confined space of woodland in the summer time that scent is held and it filled the wood.

We find plenty of Honeysuckle here in the hedgerows around the farm but out in the open it doesn’t have quite the same effect as it does in woodland.

Still it is a beautiful flower to find and one that I like to keep at hand, always.

I was going to finish this post with another wildflower but you have already seen some lovely wildflowers so instead I will do a Fizz on Facebook update for the people who don’t have Facebook.

Here are some of her recent status updates.

Dreaming in colour.

Waiting for a walk.

Dreaming of the jungle.

(sometimes he brings a little sink for me to wash up in)

Dreaming of Tigers.

Dreaming of playing stick.

Waiting patiently for my turn in the spotlight.