Once Upon a Time - in early May of last year - I spent a week in The Lake District with Jim and his parents. I started writing a post about our trip several months ago but grew increasingly distracted as Covid settled amongst us and my world shifted. Like you, I'm still pretty distracted … Continue reading A Postcard from The Lake District
Nature
The Green Woodpecker And The Magpie
I'm very fortunate that my study window looks out over the canal. It's a grand view if an awfully distracting one. My eyes lift from my laptop all too easily as people walk, cycle, jog or paddle past my window; or a mute swan glides about on still water. Moorhens aren't so good at gliding. … Continue reading The Green Woodpecker And The Magpie
Win A Copy Of ‘The Cotswold Wildlife Park, A Celebration Of The Gardens’
Yesterday, at their invitation, I drove to The Cotswold Wildlife Park near Burford in Oxfordshire. I hadn't been before and only a complete cupcake would say no to an invite for a free lunch, a guided tour by head gardener, Tim Miles, and free access to the Park, its marvellous animals and lovely grounds. Lunch … Continue reading Win A Copy Of ‘The Cotswold Wildlife Park, A Celebration Of The Gardens’
A Postcard From Marseille
We had to get away. There was only so long we could bear living in our squalid new house. However excited we were at finally moving to Gloucestershire and living on the canal, our new home was undeniably squalid. Moving-in day last August was all sorts of emotional. We unlocked the front door to our … Continue reading A Postcard From Marseille
An Otter In Stroud
Of all England's mammals, there is one - more than any other - that I have always wanted to see in the wild. Only one animal which, since I saw that film and read that book as a boy, I'm aware of, subconsciously at least, as I walk alongside streams and rivers and shoreline. When … Continue reading An Otter In Stroud
Waiting For Snow
It has been a terribly long wait since The Priory had snow enough to show and tell: a five-year wait. The Beast from the East didn't bring huge amounts of snow to my corner of Sussex; but if we were spared the havoc meted out to parts of the Kingdom, we had sufficient for me … Continue reading Waiting For Snow
The Sparrowhawk
Jim picked me up from work at The Old Forge yesterday and, as I loaded my tools into the car, told me that he'd almost driven over a sparrowhawk crouched on the lane leading up to the house. Luckily, he had braked in time and the bird flew away, as did an injured pigeon it … Continue reading The Sparrowhawk
The Anxious Gardener 