Thursday 20 November 2014

Precious Things #3: Transient treasures


Not all my Precious Things are everlasting. Often, the things I treasure most - and display proudly - are those which we've discovered whilst out walking together. Occasionally I bring things in from the garden, too: seed heads or herbs. Other times I'll snip a bit of something to put in water, like rosehips, ferns or pussy willow stems.

These little offerings from the outdoors are short-lived. Some (like shells or stones) last much longer. But there's something appealing about those which are fragile, which will eventually crumble away to dust. Maybe it's because we'll go and replenish our found treasures the following year; that such gifts are by their nature designed to last for just one season.

I spotted the tiny nest a month or so ago. It was at the foot of a little hawthorn and must have been blown down by the wind. It's very delicate and intricately fashioned. The blown quail's eggs are a 'prop', added for Joe's benefit. When he understands the art of being gentle, he can touch and examine. Maybe until then I'll try and find a glass cloche to cover them. Still out of reach, of course.


Just as fragile are these leaves. They're special because Joe chose them when they were still yellow and newly-fallen. He presented me with them - three in total - and it was so sweet that I kept them. They now reside on Gertie's table, next to the clock.


We always collect feathers. I want to find some really unusual ones from a pheasant or similar, and no doubt will one day. They remind me of our walks and are little mementoes of times spent together. I keep them in a jam jar so they can be admired through the glass.

I've entertained the idea of a nature table in the house and it's something I'd like to have once Joe's a bit bigger. I'm not sure whether they have them in classrooms any more but we used to love ours, especially when the tadpoles were sprouting their legs. I may draw the line at living creatures though. Our parents all have ponds inhabited by newts, frogs and various little critters. Some things are better left in their natural habitats (and out of my house).

One thing I've been looking for - and have as yet been unsuccessful - is a skull of some kind. It would be a great thing to study and draw, and no doubt Joe would love the macabre aspect. I'll keep my eyes open, particularly when walking up on the moors. 

The wonderful thing about these kinds of Precious Things: they require finding. You have to get outdoors and notice details and explore. That in itself creates memories and promotes an appreciation of nature, which in turn gives pleasure, a sense of wonder and of wellbeing.

Maybe our passing that on to Joe is a Precious Thing in itself.

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Leanne at Today's Stuff

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18 comments:

  1. What a lovely post, we have similar treasures here - two birds' nests found on the ground, one of which was found by my middle boy, and some little egg shells found separately that I've put in the nests. I'm with you on tadpoles staying outdoors though! I have a tiny jawbone that I found at the allotment. The biggest boy dissected an owl pellet a while back at the local wildfowl and wetlands place. It's amazing what was in there, if you can stand to do it! He washed it all off and there were tiny skulls and jaw bones and all sorts. Oh how boys love this kind of thing. I really enjoyed reading your post, I completely identify with these kinds of treasures. Wonderful. CJ xx

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    1. Thanks, CJ. Do you know, the little room where the pigeon holes were (and where I inexplicably ended up dealing with everyone's post) in the Museum housed jars and jars of owl pellets. It was a truly surreal place to work - the kind of place where people thought nothing of attending meetings with a stuffed bird tucked under their arm.
      I'm sure Joe would love the whole dissecting thing in a few years. I harbour secret ambitions for him to grow up and be some kind of ecologist, or botanist, living out in the wilds...
      Glad you enjoyed the post :)

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  2. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! I remember the school nature table with great fondness We have something similar here at home. Treasures from that day's adventure are placed there. Some stay, some wither and fade. I just think it's so important to have this connection to nature. For myself as much as my children. It somehow puts things into perspective.
    Leanne xx

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    1. Indeed it does! I know you're with me in having gone through rough times (and those times do visit us again - it's just part of life). I find being outdoors such a huge help. It really is therapeutic and has helped me out in ways nothing else can.
      S x

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  3. Yes finding things and passing on how important they are is precious. We found a sheep's skull when we were holidaying on Skye in September but just left it where it was.

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    1. Ooh, I'd have had it! I remember seeing them as a child and being very squeamish about it. These days I'm almost obsessive about wanting to find one.

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  4. Hello, I love your posts. I'm Carol, and i'm new to your blog and wondering what is the meaning of Mitenska?

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    1. Hello! Nice to meet you. If you read this post http://mitenska.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/mitenska.html (copy and paste it into your browser) all will become clear!

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  5. What a wonderful post. I like these precious things most of all so far and am remembering a leaf skeleton I found in the garden last winter, and how it thrilled me. The nest, wow, what a discovery and something for Joe to learn from. It would look gorgeous under a cloche. It has been my experience that nature tables are still going strong in schools, although only in reception at ours. I would like a skull too. Not found one yet though. :-) xx

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    1. But a good excuse to go out walking and looking! I must admit, I'd always wanted to find a little nest so was very excited to see it lying there on the ground. Skulls must be easier to come by, surely?
      Good to hear nature tables are still in schools. I think it's so important. Country Living magazine ran a campaign a good few years back about reinstating classroom nature tables and I think there's a renewed interest in these things now, which can only be a good thing. I'm glad you enjoyed this post :) x

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  6. Gorgeous post Sarah. We too collect nature's little treasures. The idea of Joe learning to love nature from your collections is a precious thing indeed. I love the little nest, A skull would be a great find. But maybe a little one. We found a massive one last winter in the forest we walk in. It had really long horns. There are wild mountain goats here and we thought it might be one of those. Too big to bring home, anyway.Bee xx

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  7. I really enjoyed this post because the delicate things are often the most interesting ones but we feel hesitant to really explore them because of that. I think finding a skull is a great idea. I would suggest looking in places where you see owls, because they will expel their "pellets" of undigested parts after they eat. You can often find tiny skulls and other bones from mice, especially, in owl pellets.

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    1. I think we may have to do as CJ suggested, and go along to a nature reserve where they do activities based around that kind of thing... I wondered why they kept so many owl pellets at the museum and now I know it was for research purposes!

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  8. I found an empty birds nest whilst trimming our hawthorn hedge and it filled me with wonder. It was so neat and perfect and had a tiny piece of shell in it. It's now on the mantlepiece and has been there almost a year. I don't touch it in case it disintegrates but it's still pretty to look at.

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  9. little boys carry nature tables in their pockets! lol I know my Nephew does

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  10. I love nature tables, we always had one here when the children were small. If you still get to Dunham that's where to look for your skull, I have a deer skull, minus lower jaw, that came from there. But it's bird skulls I really covet and they're much harder to come by.

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    1. Again, harking back to my museum days, we had so many of these things in the stores to marvel at. But I agree, finding them is something special. We don't get to Dunham at all since the move but it would be good to visit again sometime.
      A deer skull would be a great find. Like you, I haven't seen many bird skulls at all. The odd one at the beach but they're usually attached to a semi-decomposed body and I'm a bit too squeamish to deal with that!

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  11. Such a beautiful post Sarah. We often bring things home from our outings and walks. We recently disposed of some decomposing leaves (my fault slightly damp leaves in a carrier bag) but have kept certain sticks and still have conkers. Such a lovely idea to have transient treasures xx

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