These days, the month of October always reminds me of one place. The Isles of Scilly was the destination for a three week volunteer work placement I took part in a few years ago, and I have been longing to return ever since. Before I made that trip in the autumn of 2014, everyone I …
SFN Journal – Autumn Almanac: A Sweet Utterance
I have finally seen the bullfinches. All summer long I have heard their whistles from the long hedge that runs parallel to one of the glasshouses (of the plant nursery where I work) but they have remained elusive and disembodied. Today a movement in the bushes attracted my attention as I headed out on my …
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#30DaysWild: Picnics, jewels and swifts
Saturday 10th June "If you go down to the woods today..." Of course, picnics are not just for teddy bears. A picnic is possibly my favourite thing to do in nature, whether it's fish and chips on the beach, a pasty in the park, or cheese and pickle sandwiches in a woodland clearing. Every …
#30DaysWild: The ‘Undersong’
I woke early today. Unintentionally early. An hour and a half before my alarm was due to ring. Sun streamed into the room (we never close the bedroom curtains at night). It was a pure yellow light, as yet unpolluted by dancing dust motes, leaf filters, or heat haze. It was filled however, saturated in …
