Since childhood i have been fascinated by thatched cottages so part of the thrill of travelling in the U.K was to see the real thing.
More of a thrill was to find the variations in style and decoration of the roof thatching . Even more exhilarating was to discover that some incorporated birds, like this family of ducks.
This brings to mind that childhood nursery song- “Five little ducks went out to play , over the hill and faraway…. but only four little ducks came back”, and here they are, waddling along atop a thatch roof in Wadsworth England ,demonstrating the skill of this clever artisan.
In the counting song Mother duck sets off to find her brood and her she is! This duck lived on a special pond near Hever Castle and even had her own “palace.
Owls also were featured on the roof of this thatch cottage in Purlbeck, where the cottages were mainly a grey stone and over the village loomed the ruins of a once mighty castle.
Fruits of Heart 