As It Was Told on the Downs... I was told this years ago, as it happened, not as a story meant to frighten, but as something that simply took place. It was told plainly, without embellishment, as a reminder to be careful of what you follow when you’re out on the open land alone. There was a man out hiking on the downs on a summer afternoon. As he crested a hill, he stopped beside an old, wind-blown hawthorn and looked out across the view. As he stood there, he became aware of

I've been thinking about something recently and it begins with a few recurring themes I keep coming across in plant lore. It's about the...