Category Archives: Lockdown Diary

Can one really describe a car trip as getting fresh air… I guess we opened the windows and did step out a few times, so I recon that works. The intention was a visit to the local National nature Reserve … Continue reading →

For those of you who do not want to be bothered with my diatribe below… here’s a pretty picture… enjoy, there is nothing else that’s pretty in todays posting. Marmalade (Hover) Fly on petunia petal Like many of those with … Continue reading →

I know virtually nothing about spiders. With a genuine arachnophobic partner, I’m not given to much close examination. Over the last three or more decades it’s been my job to check hotel bathrooms and the underside of restaurant tables for … Continue reading →

You can eat leaves, flowers and seeds of nasturtiums. The leaves and flowers make for a peppery salad and the seeds when pickled are redolent of capers. Regular readers will know that our garden is somewhere to relax and enjoy … Continue reading →

Last night it rained torrentially… the first proper downpour in weeks. It soaked the corners of the garden we don’t water and in the wet warmth everything seems to have grown inches taller overnight. Late in the day the sun … Continue reading →

Fuchsias have all been developed from plants such as Fuchsia triphylla found first in the Caribbean, although there are over a hundred species native to Latin America although there are a few species in Oceania. In the UK I don’t … Continue reading →

Mini-bee According to my bee-friend these are a Lasioglossum species. Probably the Slender Mining Bee (alternative more used name below) but there are a number of similar species. I favour this one because it is the commonest and most widespread … Continue reading →

I’m pretty sure this is what I think it is… the trouble is that there is sometimes a size crossover between species so the queen of one species might be the same size as a worker of another with very … Continue reading →

Lockdown has given me plenty of opportunity to learn about the plants, birds, amphibians, insects and other invertebrates in my urban oasis. Despite the fact that I turn 71 in two weeks, I’m still learning. This year I have definitely … Continue reading →

William Blake has always been one of my favourite poets… a man surely well before his time. Not only were his views about unearned wealth and power spot on, but his thoughts about the wild world are lessons for today. … Continue reading →