Fairy rings

One morning each autumn, on the East Street towpath, a Christmas wreath-like fairy ring springs up next to one of the old wooden pilings. English folklore: cavorting fairies; German tradition: witches; the Danes: devils. The true provenance, though, is stranger still. Neither plant nor animal, fairy rings begin in a tight cluster, ground-level fruit of …

Hunting rabbits

Wildlife inhabits the woods, scrub, sward, brush, and hedgerow of Grandpont nature park, four footbridges from Osney. Approaching a Grandpont meadow this evening, the grass appears dotted with wholemeal cobs. Closing in, they spring to life; a flash of white tail and they dart back down the rabbit hole. The younger, braver bucks and does …