Month: September 2026
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Unusual binomials, empty nests, cheerleading, the Dragon Lady, Diana
I continue to enjoy the podcast Lateral, hosted by Tom Scott, an immensely likeable, unashamed and self-confessed nerd. One of the questions requiring lateral thinking was about the connection between Tyrannosaurs Rex and a Boa Constrictor. They seem to be the only two animals whose common names and Linnaean binomials are the same, so it’s…
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More macro, PETA news and Cats & Art
I haven’t quite emulated the gorgeous Wild Chicory photos which inspired me, (Blue dancers | absolutelynotnormal), but I am pleased with these nonetheless. A bit more sunlight would have made the blues of the petals and stamens contrast more strongly. I took these yesterday during my walk with Chilli the Norfolk Terrier for the Cinnamon…
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The Blackcap is back, macro photography and a lunch
I heard the Blackcap in the garden again yesterday morning. Again it quickly flew away but this time I had a clear sight of him and was able to visually confirm the species. He definitely has a favourite bush from which to call. Inspired by photographs way superior to mine of Wild Chicory on a…
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A Sparrowhawk, BTO News, 1,000 Shades of Green and the royal family and slavery again
The image above is from Meyer (Henry Leonard). Illustrations of British Birds, c.1835-1844. It seems the name changed to just a single word relatively recently. A male Sparrowhawk in the garden yesterday. I caught only a fleeting glimpse as usual but I am confident in my identification. It came from the direction of the bird…
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Kelmscott Manor and all that
I have been thinking of visiting for a while and when a friend mentioned it a couple of days ago I decided to go yesterday – it’s less than an hour away by car. I am not sorry I did but it is a very strange place. On the way I noticed signposts to villages…
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Pippa Middleton’s driveway – the verdict
September 14th was a sad and depressing day for the village, for The Ramblers Association and for anyone who holds out hope for a Right to Roam in England. K. Taylor of the Planning Inspectorate published his report on the inquiry into the path/driveway (the Order route) forming part of Barton Court, the estate owned…
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The Devil’s Garden
The Devil’s Garden: The World’s Most Sinister Plants and Fungi, Bloomsbury Wildlife, 2026, by Peter Marren. See here for one of his contributions to British Wildlife magazine: A graduation, garden wildlife, British Wildlife Magazine and a tribute to Willmie Jalius – Animal Wild The author is my type of gardener – let things be and…
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Alice’s Meadow, Thunderstone, Edward Abbey, Jim Dodge
Above is one of John Tenniel’s illustrations of Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. “For some minutes Alice stood without speaking, looking out in all directions over the country—and a most curious country it was. There were a number of tiny little brooks running straight across it from side to side,…
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Howl! Thames Water – and Wolves
A howl of protest, with apologies to Allen Ginsberg. I doubt he would mind as he was a relentless campaigner for environmental and social justice (I had quite a long infatuation with the Beat Generation when I was in my late teens). I have just received correspondence from Thames Water insisting that I allow them…
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Binsey Poplars, Collared Doves, Washing Machine Politics and Defensive Defecation
The Fieldfare image above is from Meyer (Henry Leonard). Illustrations of British Birds, c.1835-1844. Each day, which is every day, when I see my ruined Lime Tree, I feel guilty and apologetic (I do actually silently apologise), even though the butchery was carried out, in my garden, without my permission and in my absence. I…
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Magpies, Gulls, Sheep, animals and the media
Magpies will stop stealing from bird feeders if you place one simple object in the garden This piece from the Daily Express is just the kind of lazy, sensationalist, clickbait journalism about wildlife that drives me up the wall. If it’s not corvids, it’s Squirrels, Red Kites, Foxes, Gulls, Adders or Ragwort being demonised. It…