A bustle in the hedgerow?
Upon the lane where the hedgerows stand thick and the willows begin their early flowering, there hangs a sign outside a pub. The board is of dark oak, iron-braced, and creaks gently when the wind comes down the lane.
Painted upon it is a spray of willow catkins, pale as candlelight. About them gather three creatures: a great humble-bee, striped and solemn, a slender hoverfly, and a small honeybee, all intent upon the yellow dust of the blossoms.
The painter has set them almost as heraldic beasts, as lions might guard a shield. The willow branch forms the crest, and beneath it the insects labour as if they were the rightful patrons of the house.
Below, in weathered gold letters, the name
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐒
And travellers, seeing the sign swinging above the hedge, might take it for a place where life gathers early in the season, where the first warmth of spring draws company together, just as surely as the willow draws its flies and bees.