avus
in
britpickery
Nature -- The Flowers in Spring, Birds, and all that....
Ah, dear wemyss, as always you're up to good things. And just as I was feeling the need to know more and not knowing how. I hope it's appropriate to post here, rather than just email you.
I'm writing a story where I've set Godric's Hollow somewhere near Hatfield Forest, done largely b/c I have Oliver Rackham's book, The Last Forest, and that gave me some information to go on. But I need more.
Several questions:
1. Would it be likely that a small "woods" (Is that a brit term?) could be behind a small, say half-acre meadow, behind the ruins of the Potter's house, this on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow?
2. In April, What would be blooming in that largely unkempt meadow? (Would a brit meadow be unkempt?) Would there be a dominant color or flower? What would the general color mix be? Would there be something particularly noticeable? What would that meadow smell like? As a western Yank, I know it would be moist and green-smelling -- my brief trips to England gave me that much. But would there be something else distinctive. In northern Yank meadows, at that time, there wouldn't be a lot insect noise -- that comes more in later summer. Would there be something distinctive there? Would there be a common butterfly? Or a particularly colorful one? Or would it be a bit early? (In Yank meadows, forests, even cities, we have butterflies that overwinter as adults, and can see those one or two types even in warm winter days.)
How high would the grasses be? Would it be mostly a single grass or mix of grasses, or would it be a balanced mix of grasses and forbes or flowering plants? Would there be anything that a suburban Brit like Harry or a more small town Brit like Ron would nibble on? If so, how would it taste, if at all? (I grew up nibbling my way through yards, woods & meadows.)
Would there likely be hedges on the non-woods side? If so, would they be mature & varied hedges? And if so, would there be anything blooming or fruiting in April. (I nibbled a bit on blackberries when my wife & I did a walking trip in the Cotswolds.) What would the margins be like, transitioning between woods & meadow?
3. The woods in back, could I assume a woods of, perhaps 5-10 acres? I don't need more, but it would be useful, for dramatic action, to have at least several acres. Could it be a mature and varied woods? Some parts more closed, some more open? Could there be coppices in the woods -- kept or old? If so, what would they be: willow, hazel?
Would it be terribly unusual for there to be a small spring, with a bit of marsh around it within the woods? What would be blooming in the woods in April, if anything. (In northern Yank forests, this might be a bit early.) Would a hawthorn be found in a more open woods, esp. as a kind of understory. (That wouldn't be impossible in a northern Yank forest.) How big would the trees be -- say oak, of course (but what kind?). Any maple (acer) or sycamore (plane tree, I believe you call it)? Around the spring -- say something of an opening, would it be, as in the States, a denser green? And what distinctive would be growing there. In the States, we'd have cattails, horsetails (equisedem sp?), certainly sedges? What would be in a small forest marshy area? Anything different in bloom there, in April. Around the edges of the opening, could there be some shrubby aspen?
Would it be unusual to hear a crow call toward the late afternoon?
I'm assuming, both in meadow & forest, that in April there would be quite a bit of birdsong toward evening, dying off toward dusk, sort of species by species. What would be the last bird? (Here, commonly, we'd hear our robin -- a bit larger than yours -- which has a long, somewhat complex song it would be singing.) Would there be any birdsongs after dark or in the late dusk? (Here, we'd have the odd owl, the whoosh of a nighthawk diving -- both country & city, and if we were very lucky, in very northern forests, the varied calls of the loon.)
If someone were walking through the woods, could they startle a pair of small birds out? If so, what would be common? Would there be any dictinctive color, or would it just be darkish brown & sparrow-like?
Would the land be relatively flat or slightly hilly?
Would the woods understory be such that convenient & silent walking would be easy? Would it be easy to either approach boldly & seen, or covertly & unseen, just by using that understory?
I hope I'm not presuming too much in this post. But while Rackham's book gave me a start, it didn't give the detail I wanted to really bring the person into the setting.
I'm writing a story where I've set Godric's Hollow somewhere near Hatfield Forest, done largely b/c I have Oliver Rackham's book, The Last Forest, and that gave me some information to go on. But I need more.
Several questions:
1. Would it be likely that a small "woods" (Is that a brit term?) could be behind a small, say half-acre meadow, behind the ruins of the Potter's house, this on the outskirts of Godric's Hollow?
2. In April, What would be blooming in that largely unkempt meadow? (Would a brit meadow be unkempt?) Would there be a dominant color or flower? What would the general color mix be? Would there be something particularly noticeable? What would that meadow smell like? As a western Yank, I know it would be moist and green-smelling -- my brief trips to England gave me that much. But would there be something else distinctive. In northern Yank meadows, at that time, there wouldn't be a lot insect noise -- that comes more in later summer. Would there be something distinctive there? Would there be a common butterfly? Or a particularly colorful one? Or would it be a bit early? (In Yank meadows, forests, even cities, we have butterflies that overwinter as adults, and can see those one or two types even in warm winter days.)
How high would the grasses be? Would it be mostly a single grass or mix of grasses, or would it be a balanced mix of grasses and forbes or flowering plants? Would there be anything that a suburban Brit like Harry or a more small town Brit like Ron would nibble on? If so, how would it taste, if at all? (I grew up nibbling my way through yards, woods & meadows.)
Would there likely be hedges on the non-woods side? If so, would they be mature & varied hedges? And if so, would there be anything blooming or fruiting in April. (I nibbled a bit on blackberries when my wife & I did a walking trip in the Cotswolds.) What would the margins be like, transitioning between woods & meadow?
3. The woods in back, could I assume a woods of, perhaps 5-10 acres? I don't need more, but it would be useful, for dramatic action, to have at least several acres. Could it be a mature and varied woods? Some parts more closed, some more open? Could there be coppices in the woods -- kept or old? If so, what would they be: willow, hazel?
Would it be terribly unusual for there to be a small spring, with a bit of marsh around it within the woods? What would be blooming in the woods in April, if anything. (In northern Yank forests, this might be a bit early.) Would a hawthorn be found in a more open woods, esp. as a kind of understory. (That wouldn't be impossible in a northern Yank forest.) How big would the trees be -- say oak, of course (but what kind?). Any maple (acer) or sycamore (plane tree, I believe you call it)? Around the spring -- say something of an opening, would it be, as in the States, a denser green? And what distinctive would be growing there. In the States, we'd have cattails, horsetails (equisedem sp?), certainly sedges? What would be in a small forest marshy area? Anything different in bloom there, in April. Around the edges of the opening, could there be some shrubby aspen?
Would it be unusual to hear a crow call toward the late afternoon?
I'm assuming, both in meadow & forest, that in April there would be quite a bit of birdsong toward evening, dying off toward dusk, sort of species by species. What would be the last bird? (Here, commonly, we'd hear our robin -- a bit larger than yours -- which has a long, somewhat complex song it would be singing.) Would there be any birdsongs after dark or in the late dusk? (Here, we'd have the odd owl, the whoosh of a nighthawk diving -- both country & city, and if we were very lucky, in very northern forests, the varied calls of the loon.)
If someone were walking through the woods, could they startle a pair of small birds out? If so, what would be common? Would there be any dictinctive color, or would it just be darkish brown & sparrow-like?
Would the land be relatively flat or slightly hilly?
Would the woods understory be such that convenient & silent walking would be easy? Would it be easy to either approach boldly & seen, or covertly & unseen, just by using that understory?
I hope I'm not presuming too much in this post. But while Rackham's book gave me a start, it didn't give the detail I wanted to really bring the person into the setting.