Landscape Nov

BIRD IN A BROOCH
This charming brooch in autumnal tones is set on copper and
features a silver wren surveying her garden. Hand cut and
stamped by Helen Shere in her Nottinghamshire home studio,
the brooch measures approximately 2in by 1½in (5 x 4cm). A
strong steel pin on the reverse makes it suitable for attaching
to a heavy fabric, such as a winter coat or shawl. Helen gains
inspiration for her jewellery from her garden, old brick walls
and even weeds in the cracks of paving stones. Each piece
may vary slightly, as all are individually made.
Wren brooch £132, http://www.sheredesign.co.uk/
EARTHLY
BEAUTY
The subtle glow of morning light on the
frosted fields of a November landscape
brings out the simple beauty of
medieval ridge and furrow patterns.
Created by a ploughing system
employed in the middle ages, the
raised ridges, or riggs, aided drainage.
The parallel mounds and troughs are
the result of ploughing with
non-reversible equipment on the same
strip of land each year. Fields which
have been left undisturbed for centuries
reveal their striking symmetry.
Photography: Alamy; Richard Faulks; Nature Picture Library; FLPA
WOODLAND PLUMAGE
The turkey tail fungus, Trametes versicolor, is named for its distinctive circular
caps resembling the feathers of the farmyard bird. These year-round, colourful
bracket fungi form tiers on dead hardwood, such as beech and oak, and are
at their best in the autumn. The caps are thin and tough, with clear, velvety
rings of colour in mixes of brown, yellow, grey, purple, green and black. All are
edged in cream or white. Once popular as a table decoration, they have even
been used in the past to decorate hats.
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