Posts

About ME!

Image
  Some years ago,   I decided to learn my way around digital photography so that I could keep pictorial records of the wildlife and nature on my local patch as I began to explore it – an area of   of woodland and farmland near to where I live with a fallow field.  To say I was surprised at the variety of birds, insect life and flora would be an understatement.     When I was considerably younger (a mere Tween!) I had thoroughly enjoyed a bit of birdwatching, so with the interest very much re-awakened, this time with different eyes and taking a very different approach with an appreciation now of seeing the natural world far more, observing and wondering at how, from the soil upwards, through plants and insects to birds, reptiles and mammals, everything fits together in an incredible way with an important place in the huge Nature Jigsaw.  This time around, no tick lists, instead, everything I watched and or photographed I was going to learn something about it – lifecycle, name, habit
Read more

2020 A Local Patch Retrospective...

Image
  Where was I?  Ah yes, beginning of May 2020.  Apologies for the huge gap, but with concentrating on getting through last year, I somehow never had the words to go with the pictures, so, whilst things are still not great, am a bit more used to ‘hands, face, space’ so feel that am in calmer waters whilst in a holding pattern until things are safer…   Anyhow, I digress! In between working from home and trying not to lose the plot entirely, I did manage to get out for quite a few walks on my local patch and as always kept a photo diary of what I was watching, so I’ve been through the photos and pieced together some of the moments that were particularly special.  Very often, those walks were a saving grace in a life where routines and plans were suddenly in disarray and observing Nature’s unhindered progress through the season was strangely of comfort when I was feeling as though I’d somehow woken into a chaotic frightening disaster movie.   My local patch, last year, became exceeding
Read more

Then April Arrived...

Image
  Then April arrived.  With an overwhelming amount of news bulletins, statistics, frightening information and continuing to adjust to the new ‘normal’, my local patch wander has given something of a respite, reset and refresh – Nature really has become, for certain health aspects, the best medicine… There is something very comforting in watching a familiar clock ticking away the seasons with all the players, whether flora or fauna making their expected timed entrances and simply getting on with it…    Green shoots began to burst their buds, With more Wood Anemones appearing, now joined by the brilliant yellow of Lesser Celandine And Greater Stitchwort putting in an appearance. The Bluebell buds swelled, in preparation for a grand display, Whilst the Blackthorn came into bloom and provided food for Peacocks and Small Tortoiseshells as well as numerous Bees, hoverflies and other minibeasts. Here and there hints of brilliant pink appeared as Scarlet Campion came into flowe
Read more