Preserve (v): Cook or treat food in a way that prevents it from rotting and allows for long-term storage. A preserve (noun) such as jam or jelly is made from food treated in this way.

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Plentiful (adj): Abundant or copious, present in large quantities.

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Rosehip (n): Fruiting body of rose bushes, very high in Vitamin C and other nutrients, but also containing tiny and highly irritating hairs that were once used to produce itching powder.

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Buoyant (adj): Having the ability to keep afloat in liquid or gas.

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Dough (n): An uncooked mixture of flour and other ingredients that can be baked into bread or formed into other foods.

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Sweeney Todd (proper noun): Victorian penny dreadful character notorious for cutting up his barbershop customers and baking them into pies with the help of his partner in crime Mrs Lovett.

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Hip iron (n): A metal support used in roof tiling.

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Quilt (n): A bed covering made of two layers of material, stuffed with varying densities of filling or padding depending on how much warmth is required by the user, and often decoratively stitched.

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Marble (n): A small, robust, solid glass sphere, usually with a coloured surface or centre, used as playing pieces in a large number of games.

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Pareidolia (n): A psychological phenomenon that causes us to perceive random elements as resembling human faces.

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Mares' Tails: Popular name for Cirrus Uncinus clouds.

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Rosette (n): A cluster or group of leaves that radiate from a central point on a plant.

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Looks like the 419 scam (or advance fee fraud) email has morphed into yet another form, after this gem of imaginative creativity dropped into the inbox this morning.

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Nineteen (n): A number in the range 10-20; a natural number; also a prime number. It is the atomic number for potassium.

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Rainbow (n): An optical effect caused by the refraction of light through water droplets, causing it to break into a full spectrum of colours; a collection of vivid colours.

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Scarecrow (n): A human-shaped model often set up by farmers in fields to protect crops from foraging birds.

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Burden (n): A heavy load, something that requires carrying.

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Boreal (adj) Northerly; connected with the earth's northern hemisphere, especially its upper latitudes.

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Blackboard (n): A board painted black (or another dark colour) for the purposes of displaying information or being used as a teaching aid.

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Damson (n): A small plum-like fruit produced by deciduous trees that often feature in hedgerows.

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