The dry summer has really helped keep garden growth under control this year but on Saturday I could finally put off the inevitable no longer. It was time to cut the grass. I can hear your shrieks of despair from here but fear not for I had a cunning plan. Read more…
Saturday dawned hot and clear and it was to the sound of distant jet engines (a hint of approaching activities) that we set off to walk a section of the abandoned Thames and Severn Canal. Completed in 1789 it was conceived as part of the route from Bristol to London Read more…
Less than a week after returning from North Wales it was time to head off once more on Friday for a long weekend in the Cotswolds. Regular readers will no doubt note that this is a location that neither has a coastline nor mountains, an unusual departure from our destinations Read more…
The Aberglaslyn Pass has always offered walkers a dramatic mix of scenery and wildlife and even though the recent revival of the Welsh Highland Railway has rendered the old tunnels off limits, an alternative riverside path more than compensates. Back on Wednesday we set off from Beddgelert to tackle a Read more…
Over two weeks have passed since my last patch update but there’s certainly been plenty going on. As you may have guessed from the title above I saw my first spring migrant of the year on Monday evening with very brief views of a Swallow disappearing into the valley from Read more…
With the nights drawing in ever earlier it’s been heartening to see the last vestiges of this years insect population still on the wing. My rarity filled visit to Cosmeston on Sunday will be remembered as much for the mating Common Darters as for a wayward Turtle Dove. Although the Read more…
It’s probably not escaped your notice, and it certainly hasn’t mine, that the last few months have been somewhat barren on here when it comes to updates concerning my Patchwork Challenge. The reasons for this are nothing beyond the usual; lack of time, work and holidays. On a personal level Read more…
I popped the moth trap out for a couple of hours on Friday evening which was about as long as I dared in its current non-weatherproof guise. Despite the short operation window though it still managed to catch one moth in the shape of this intricately patterned Small Phoenix (Ecliptopera Read more…
In all the years that I’ve been visiting Kenfig NNR, Sunday was the very first opportunity I’ve ever had to photograph this ‘classic’ view. For once all the important elements of a blue sky, high water level and no people combined to kick start what turned out to be a Read more…
One of the joys of having our own garden is the constant discovery of new wildlife species within it. Birds are our most obvious visitors but over the last couple of years we have begun to realise just how much variety is out there. Spiders, Moths, Slugs, Foxes, Hedgehogs and Read more…