Tag Archives: Spindle tree

Kestrels, Linnets, and flowers in October

A Kestrel hovered persistently in the steady breeze, starting above treetop height and dropping lower in little steps, over the rough grass full of thistles, burdock, and teasels

Comfrey, once used as a medicinal herb to knit bones, still in flower in October. A solitary Chiffchaff sang its simple song nearby.

Germander Speedwell, a miniature beauty in bloom

Creeping Cinquefoil, an attractively bright flower in clusters among the well-trodden grass of the path

The extraordinary pink of the fruit of the Spindle Tree, a small slender tree with long and extremely straight twigs, that were ideal for medieval spinsters to use as spindles when spinning thread

Scentless Mayweed, a cheerful flower of waste ground, common in the pony field. A twittering flock of Linnets flew into a bramble patch in the field, perching atop the bush and making little flights, apparently catching insects, before returning to their perches.

Who Said Pink and Orange Didn’t Go?

Pink and Orange Do Go - the Extraordinary Fruit of the Spindle Tree
Pink and Orange Do Go – the Extraordinary Fruit of the Spindle Tree.

The colours have not been manipulated in any way: they are just as they appeared on a sunny crisp November day.

Clusters of Spindle fruits
Clusters of Spindle fruits

The Spindle tree was once used to make spindles for spinning thread (you can see the long straight twigs, which were ideal for the job). The bizarre fruits dehisce into four, revealing the four bright orange seeds.