#poetry – Northwest Nature and History

Ragged Robin

Ragged Robin (Silene flos-cuculi, formerly Lychnis flos-cuculi) is a plant of many names, these include: Cuckoo Flower (because it flowers as the Cuckoo arrives,) Thunder flower (in some parts of Yorkshire picking it will bring thunderstorms) Shaggy Jacks, and Marsh Gillyflower.

Speckled Woods

Speckled Woods are a familiar butterfly to most of us here in Britain yet are often overlooked in favour of flashier species like the Peacock or Red Admiral.

Understated and widespread they may even appear dowdy compared to their lepidopteran cousins yet, as with any wild creature, patient observation reveals them to possess more beauty and character than you would ever suspect.

The Moorland Breeze, by Edwin Waugh

OF all the blithesome melody  that wakes the warm heart’s thrill, give me the wind that whistles free  across the moorland hill; When every blade upon the lea  is dancing with delight, and every bush and flower and tree  is singing in its flight.