I discovered a new word today

Smeuse .... this is an English dialect noun for the gap or passage in the base of a hedge or wall especially one made and habitually used by an animal. It is especially known in the Midlands and its etymological origin is thought to be an alteration of meuse or a blend of smoot and meuse.

Smoot (from English Cumbrian dialect) is the run of a Hare or another animal though a fence, wall or hedge or a gap in a drystone wall through which sheep can pass in single file and thus be accounted for by a shepherd.

Meuse (from Middle French dialect but in widespread use in England from the 14th century) is a gap in a fence or hedge used by small animals as a passageway and/or means of escape or a constructed passage or tunnel designed to lead Rabbits or Hares into a dead-end trap.

Here is a smeuse on my local patch site around St. Nicholas Church ....

.... and here is what you can see emerging from them ....

Photo: Red Fox cub at St. Nicholas Church, Laindon

Photo: Red Fox cubs at St. Nicholas Church, Laindon

💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature