I guess I’m a bit of a magpie – a forager – gatherer!  I rarely come home empty handed from my walks…a heart-shaped stone, a feather – or two, even a pair of antlers – and on a daily basis – a bundle of lightings for the woodburner.  With all the windy weather we have had over Winter and early Spring – twigs are in abundant supply – I don’t buy kindling when it’s there for free!

Whether it’s just a handful – or an underarm bundle – there is something very satisfying about the simple pleasure – and age olde tradition of gathering a faggot for the fire.  Yesterday, I gathered a rather unruly bunch of Ash and Oak twigs – all found on the grass verges – or caught in the hedgerows at the side of the road – by the time I returned to my village I had an under-armful.  As I entered under the soft orange glow of the street lights something caught my eye – and it wasn’t the sharp end of a misbehaving twig! Suddenly, there was a huge monster in the shadows and alarmingly I realised it was me! Quite how I morphed into this grotesque (faintly rude) Doctor Who-esque shape is a mystery but after my initial perturbation – I became amused and so took this photo for my album… Of course – that’s why I love coming home in dimsy light – that magical time between sunset and nightfall, when what is real – and what is a trick of the light, merge to trigger the imagination.