Copse and Spinney

Copse and Spinney Home

A Copse (pronounced copse/käps) is a small group of trees. And a spinney (pronounced /ˈspinē/) is a small area of trees and bushes. So essentially, a copse and spinney could be defined as trees and more trees and bushes.  

I first heard the phrase, while listening to my six year old reading aloud from Winnie the Pooh: “Through copse and spinney marched Bear; down open slopes of gorse and heather, over rocky beds of streams, up steep banks of sandstone into the heather again; and so at last, tired and hungry, to the Hundred Acre Wood. For it was in the Hundred Acre Wood that Owl lived.” 

Hearing his dear, sweet little voice using such odd sounding words as “gorse and heather” and “Copse and Spinney” really melted my heart.  With a large state park just a few miles away, we were always going on nature walks in the piney forest, or even at the local parks we fed the ducks our leftover bread.  

We also enjoyed many books that we read aloud, and always had a kitchen table that was strewn with colored pencils and the latest artwork.  

A few years later, we traveled to the mountains, and enjoyed the Aspens in Colorado together and the Maples in Shenandoah. I hope and believe that those years instilled a continual spark for the love of nature and the outdoors. 

I remember one time when it was muggy and hot, and there were bugs on a hike, my son loudly protested, “I am not a Texas outdoor family” defying the sign that was prominently displayed near the park entrance.  But on a cool spring day, we loved taking hikes through the forest, admiring the flora and fauna. 

Even now, on the occasions that we do get a chance to visit, it is nice to drive slowly through acres of park roads, with the windows down and just enough air blowing through the evening sky. “Copse and Spinney” we say jokingly as we notice a small grove of trees.

As parents, we always endeavor to instill in children our own values but ultimately, it is up to them whether they will take some of what we gave them into their adulthood.  

It is my hope that during the years of home school they picked up a love of learning, of discovery, of creativity and felt loved in the process.  

I loved that time with them, and perhaps for this reason, we never cease to re-revisit with fondness the stories of Narnia, Middle Earth, the Hundred Acre Wood, and Green Gables. 

One might wonder from the title of this journal “What is a Copse and Spinney Home?” To give a mom’s answer, it is a place for the imagination to grow, a place with quiet corners, reading nooks, a home with living room tent forts, and tiny cups of tea served in a Madeline Tea set.  

But now my children are grown. (One lives with me still.) Even though we miss some aspects of younger childhood days, we love who our children have become. They are different than us, yes, but they are always a part of us.  ~ Forever and Always!