Sep 16
Vintage Blooms
We have a potted echinopsis cactus in our garden that is almost as old as we are. This year it has excelled itself – last night 13 flowers opened simultaneously, to create this splendid spectacle.
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Sep 13
Garden Wonders
The sun caught this bracken fungus growing on an ash tree at the bottom of our garden this morning, showing us that magic and wonder are never far away.
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Feb 22
Early Spring
My soul responds to the gentle greening of the world around me, and I find myself reaching for my pens and paints while Mother Earth stirs and begins to send forth her colourful shoots and blooms.
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Aug 4
Crickets in the Mint
As you may already know, England is in the midst of a hot, dry summer. Our lawn is crispy but our patio plants are thriving in the sunshine…. and the air is full of insects, from crickets to dragonflies to the biggest bumblebees I’ve ever seen. Because I enjoy making my own herbal tea blends,…
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May 9
Spring on the Wing
We couldn’t resist taking advantage of the beautiful weather and headed back to the Canvey Wick nature reserve where we saw and heard the nightingales a few days ago. This morning, however, we were on the trail of the elusive green hairstreak butterfly (Callophrys rubi), shy creatures which can be nearly impossible to spot amongst…
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Nov 10
Raiders of the Lost Carp
He sits in the tree at the bottom of the garden like an angel on top of a Christmas tree, right at the top, watching. His prey is our neighbour’s koi carp, so his menace is real – but it’s still kind of exciting to see this huge Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) fly in every…
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Oct 27
Autumn on Wallasea
Sometimes we don’t have to wander far to find lovely and unusual landscapes. We have been watching the the transformation of Wallasea Island for the past several years as the sea has been allowed to breach the sea defenses in a carefully orchestrated and managed conservation project. As wetlands and lagoons are created, birds and…
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Sep 27
Vanessa atalanta
Summer is drawing to a close so we won’t be seeing many more of these little beauties this year, but we’ve found this Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta) huddled outside our office window several times lately, just out of camera shot. Today, though, Jeff caught her flying into the garden and snapped a quick photo…
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Aug 26
Dragonfly Drop-in
We have a new friend who likes to spend his afternoons hunting small flies and basking in our garden. We’ve been enjoying a few days of Real Summer weather this week, with temperatures in the 80’s, which makes the garden a pretty nice place to be!.
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Aug 15
Gardening with Friends
Jeff kindly takes care of our gardening for us – I think he sees it as a chance to commute with his critterly comrades! This Oak Bush cricket was keeping him company this afternoon as he was clipping back a bit of the lilac tree.
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