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A pair of wellies and a pair of slippers on the lawn

Virtual Birdfair Reading List

One of the highlights of my summer is usually Birdfair – a festival of talks, workshops, art, books, travel inspiration, fundraising, socialising, cheese straws and a celebration of all wildlife (winged and otherwise) hosted at Rutland Water. Sadly, the real-life experience was cancelled this year but the organisers pulled off an excellent virtual version. You can read articles, enjoy the art gallery, watch video lectures on the website, donate to… Read More »Virtual Birdfair Reading List

August: the marshmallow month

Winter might be a marshmallow world, if the song is to be believed, but August is truly the marshmallow month. I came to this conclusion after a couple of classic summer experiences this week. If you’ve never toasted a marshmallow, you’re missing out. My top tips are: to choose wooden skewers (less chance of burning your hands) pre-soaked so they don’t combust before your mallow is done; and to avoid… Read More »August: the marshmallow month

A wooden bridge crosses above a bridleway path

A walk through the zoo

As a Chester resident I was delighted when the Zoo reopened its doors. Not only does it protect endangered species worldwide and support important scientific studies, it’s of huge economic importance to the city and arguably responsible for keeping this part of Chester so green. On our lockdown dog walks we’ve discovered umpteen signs declaring the fields beyond as Chester Zoo land; in fact, the actual zoo only accounts for… Read More »A walk through the zoo

Hangry birds

If you were wasting time on the internet last week you probably heard about the eagle carrying a shark over a beach in the US. The studio behind Sharknado were even retweeting it. Turns out it was an osprey with a mackerel, which maybe doesn’t sound so impressive, but the video was still pretty fun. The myth-busters over at snopes were on the case to get the facts straight, and… Read More »Hangry birds

Wooden squirrel pieces on a board decorated with acorns

Nature tabletop games

Two of my big hobbies have apparently taken off in lockdown – namely enjoying nature, and playing board games. An article on BBC Wildlife Magazine’s website a couple of weeks ago made me take a look at our tabletop collection so I thought I’d show you the nature-themed games we own. (There are links throughout to the mighty repository of knowledge at Board Game Geek if you want to find… Read More »Nature tabletop games

Bio-diversity

For reasons personal, political and pandemic I have found myself struggling to write anything meaningful in recent weeks. Instead I have been seeking out different perspectives; reading and listening to experiences that differ from my own. It is heart-breaking to know people of colour and LGBTQ+ people struggle to access and connect with the natural world when it’s obvious to me, and there’s a growing body of evidence, that it’s… Read More »Bio-diversity

Buzzwords

We’ve had a lot of interactions with bees recently. The mason bees have wrapped up their frantic activity stuffing the bee house with their young. We’ve got tree bumblebees in a bird box on the ash tree (we discovered one lost in our laundry basket!) and a wild honeybee nest caught our attention on a dog walk. We probably wouldn’t have even heard it if traffic were at usual levels.… Read More »Buzzwords

Long grass and dandelions growing in profusion at the former golf course

Taking a swing at golf courses

My most recent country diary for the Guardian focuses on the former golf course at Mollington, just outside Chester. I had to google golf terminology for it and now I’ve littered this post with it, sorry! Abandoned four years ago after financial difficulties, the course has been left to “gently rewild” as Friends of the Earth Chester puts it: I love this space, the birdsong reverberates off the canal that… Read More »Taking a swing at golf courses

Celandines

What’s up in lockdown

I’m sure you’re all sick of the word ‘lockdown’, and the virus that shall not speak its name, so I’ll keep any references brief. I just wanted to record how things are going here ‘in the current crisis’ (sorry, I’ll start a buzzword bingo for the blog so I can’t use an irritating term more than once.) These are extraordinary times, but I’m trying not to put extra pressure on… Read More »What’s up in lockdown

New website

I’ve finally built myself a wordpress site! Now you can find me, browse through my portfolio and see highlights from my old Tumblr blog in one place. I’ll be trying to blog more regularly here, with a couple of recurring categories that I will introduce properly in due course. Needless to say I’ll be indulging my gothic tastes and posting far too many pictures of Caper. It’s been a while… Read More »New website