Have you had much damage caused by Francis? The storm has powered its way through and we have one small tree uprooted, several branches broken, pots turned over and contents spread about and five conkers prematurely dropped from the Horse Chestnut tree in our garden. It looked like a bomb had hit home at six this morning but we were lucky and all was soon tidied away.
Now many of you know how I do love the Horse Chestnut - I told you earlier in the season about the tree only having six, I think, candle like flowers standing tall and straight, creamy coloured and tinged with soft pink and the perfume from them is wonderful. Now we have five conkers dropped prematurely from the tree in their outer cases. The tree, its branches, are once again becoming more and more visible as the leaves dry and shrivel, it is readying itself for a change of season and eventual Winter rest.
That tree contains for me so much. It is beautiful and as its leaves unfold in Spring, it points heavenwards and holds so much potential and so much hope. It flowers are like candles to light the way and prepare us for long hot summer days, bathed in soft pastels and a wonderful aroma. It is indeed beautiful. Even the shell of the conker is intriguing, textured, spikey and inside the cradle of softness, is the chestnut coloured conker, warm inviting and filled with seasonal expectations and new life in the future.
"Conkersations: Most people recognise the spreading horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum). Who hasn’t rushed to find the odd conker or ten? Historically conkers have had many uses besides being threaded on strings. Some think 'horse' comes from the Welsh gwres, meaning fierce; a reference to the nut’s bitterness. This is due to a soap-like chemical known as aescin - ground nuts were once used for whitening linen. Aescin also aids the treatment of varicose veins and haemorrhoids, helping to reduce swelling. Starch-rich conkers were also collected in World War One to make acetone, an ingredient for making the cordite used in artillery shells. The MOD even recruited children to collect nuts for the top secret project!"
By Ben Oliver
Conkers bring with them so many folklore tales and what about using conkers to keep your homes free from spiders?!
"However the most common folk belief about conkers, and one that persists to this very day, is that placing conkers around your house will repel spiders. And bizarre as it sounds, this method of keeping spiders at bay is said to effective by many arachnophobes. Now from a folkloric point of view, you would expect it was conkers in the spiky cases that were said to do this trick - for again the spiky shells roughly resemble the creepy-crawlies they are repelling, and hence worked perhaps through sympathetic magic or possibly just by acting an insect scarecrows! However surprisingly the lore states it is the conkers themselves, and what's more, they must be replaced every years to remain effective.
Now as those who employ this method of spider control, assert that this is the case, it would rather suggest that the conkers themselves give off some kind of chemical or scent that naturally repels spiders. However despite many tests, so far scientists have failed to discover any such compounds or substances in the humble conker. But apparently another natural property of the conker is an utter disregard of science, for it is still widely reported that conkers will keep spiders away, and many folks do swear by them. So possibly there is still some magic in the old horse chestnut tree after all... "
So today, look for conkers on your walk or around your garden. Grow a new Horse Chestnut plant in a jam jar/ plant pot, or why not join the grandchildren in a good, old fashioned game of conkers, but without baking them in the oven! Savour them as they are gorgeous at any time of the year and the wildlife around love them as part of a store cupboard to see them through the darkest and coldest of winter days.
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