{"id":3567,"date":"2017-07-28T22:55:06","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T21:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3567"},"modified":"2017-07-28T22:55:06","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T21:55:06","slug":"mysterious-nature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3567","title":{"rendered":"Mysterious Nature"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t \n<\/p>\n

\n\tSometimes nature can be a bit baffling. In the photo a Rush (the long straight stalk) has grown through the Alder leaf – both are undamaged. How can this happen? Does the Alder leaf sit quietly without moving until the Rush grows through it? Or did a gust of wind force the Alder leaf down on the Rush, leaving it impaled? There are shortcomings with both explanations. <\/span>

\"\"

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA<\/p><\/div>Maybe you have a better idea?<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThen there is the question of the Marble Gall. These round galls which are marble sized and shaped grow on Oak and are very common. They have been used for centuries for making the ink that was used to write important documents such as Magna Carta (1215). There are even traces of the ink on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Because the gall is very common now many people assume they were collected in the countryside but the Marble Gall only appeared here in the 18th century when the Turkey Oak was introduced to Britain – the insect that creates the gall needs the Turkey Oak to complete its life cycle. So were the galls imported? – the best were supposed to come from Aleppo which is in Syria – some distance away.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tFurther probing reveals that there was indeed a substantial trade in these galls with Britain importing around 2,500 tons in 1880. So even after the gall could be found in England and Wales the Aleppo gall was being brought in because they had a higher content of the tannins essential for producing the best ink. There are recipes online for making the ink so if you want to have a go at home or try it in the classroom you can still do so using the our local Marble Galls which grow all around the parish.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t \n<\/p>\n

\n\t \n<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\n\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Sometimes nature can be a bit baffling. In the photo a Rush (the long straight stalk) has grown through the Alder leaf – both are undamaged. How can this happen? Does the Alder leaf sit quietly without moving until the Rush grows through it? Or did a gust of wind force the Alder leaf down on the Rush, leaving […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-Vx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9602,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=9602","url_meta":{"origin":3567,"position":0},"title":"Oak Apple Day","author":"Alan Williams","date":"6th May 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Saturday 29th May is Oak Apple Day so don't forget to celebrate our wonderful oak trees. Take the time to admire them, give them a hug, write a poem about them or paint or photograph them. If you have children, make sure they can identify an oak with its very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Oak-apple-stock-1-300x258.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":588,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=588","url_meta":{"origin":3567,"position":1},"title":"August in the Garden","author":"Alan Williams","date":"10th August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Well, we\u2019re already more than halfway through the year and what a rotten summer it\u2019s been so far. It seems to me that the few sunny days we\u2019ve had have lacked warmth due to the continuous wind, and I mean wind and not gentle breezes. Already the winter seed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Village Gardener"","block_context":{"text":"The Village Gardener","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=77"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":318,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=318","url_meta":{"origin":3567,"position":2},"title":"The Marble Gall","author":"Wenvoeadmin","date":"2nd November 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Quite common on Oak Trees in and around Wenvoe is the gall shown in the photo known as the Marble Gall. It can be found on the Community Orchard, the Welsh Orchard and the Upper Orchid Field. It is often confused with the Oak Apple but these are uncommon in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/gall.jpg?fit=950%2C818&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/gall.jpg?fit=950%2C818&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/gall.jpg?fit=950%2C818&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/gall.jpg?fit=950%2C818&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15578,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15578","url_meta":{"origin":3567,"position":3},"title":"Brecon & Llanthony Priory","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Brecon\u00a0 This was a delightful walk, we parked north of Brecon and took a footpath through the cathedral grounds. The mixed woodland (oak, beech, hazel and alder trees) of Priory Groves borders the river Honddu, and is about a mile long. Birds sang, the river tinkled, the scent of bluebells\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Footsteps1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4677,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4677","url_meta":{"origin":3567,"position":4},"title":"The Marble Gall","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th May 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"We often refer to the Marble Gall at our talks and on our walks and usually comment that they are regularly confused with Oak Apple Galls which we have never seen. On the Orchard Walk in May we saw one for the first time and this was on the border\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nature Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Nature Notes","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=49"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8682,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=8682","url_meta":{"origin":3567,"position":5},"title":"Busy Despite the Lockdown","author":"Alan Williams","date":"29th November 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Busy Despite the Lockdown Despite lockdown we have managed to keep very busy. A very pleasant sunny day in November saw a good number of volunteers out at the top of the Orchid Field with strimmers, shears, secateurs, loppers, saws etc to tackle the ever encroaching brambles, blackthorn, ash and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Picture4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3567"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3567"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3580,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3567\/revisions\/3580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}