Ruth Binney - Nature’s Ways: Lore, Legend, Fact and Fiction

David and Charles

For as long as I can remember, I have been intrigued by 'nature's ways'. From early in childhood I would walk with my mother along the Grand Western Canal near Tiverton, in Devon, collecting leaves, picking wildflowers (in those days an altogether acceptable activity) and then taking them home to be pressed, identified and named.

There were magical moments seeing a dragonfly emerge or an adder basking in early spring sunshine and there was frogspawn to collect in a jar in the hope of nurturing at least a few adult amphibians. Away from the water, up the lane, was the 'wishing tree', and I never missed the ritual of running round it three times and making a secret wish. On holiday in Scotland, I swam in the deep, dark waters of Loch Ness, trying to imagine whether I really was sharing space with the famous monster.

In adulthood I am now more fascinated than ever by plants and animals, not just for themselves, but by the ways that we relate to them and the ways in which they affect our lives. I know for certain that I am not the only person who watches the oaks and ashes in spring to see which is first in leaf (and so predict whether the summer will be wet or dry) and feels a surge of joy at the sight of the first swallow or a kingfisher at any time of year. What strikes me most strongly is that even those of us lucky enough to live in the country are not, as a rule, as close to the plants and animals who share our planet as our forebears were, and that so many of the legends and folktales, myths and superstitions about living things reflect both this past closeness and a desire to explain nature's wonders and mysteries.

When I started to think about this book, and to organize the huge amount of research I had collected, I was overwhelmed by how much there was. However, the main themes that emerged key strongly into the ways in which we relate to plants and animals and tell tales about their origins and behaviour. It quickly becomes clear how we use them as symbols and tokens, how we explain their actions, how they may help, heal and feed us, how they have become the focus of superstitions and sayings and why we should treat them with respect or even fear them. As well as the realities of nature, I also delved into the fascinating world of 'invented' creatures, which reveal yet more secrets of our longstanding relationship with animals and plants.

Once again, I am indebted to my friends and family for their support, especially my husband Donald for his patience while I trawl the shelves of second-hand bookshops and market stalls for tempting volumes, and to my daughter Laura for her constant encouragement. My good neighbours Gordon and Maureen Shaw have provided many valuable snippets from their 'attic collection', notably a source of Romany recipes (which must not, like the others in this book, be tried at home under any circumstances). The London Library, as ever, has proved a treasure trove of books. My thanks go also to my editor Neil Baber and the team at David & Charles, and to Beverley Jollands for her meticulous editing.

More than ever, the plant and animal inhabitants of the natural world deserve our care and respect. By understanding more about the many ways in which they touch our lives even if these are fanciful I hope, like me, you will find your love of nature hugely enhanced.

Ruth Binney