Once again Wild June had me racing towards London with a book to promote. I was reading Ulysses as the train rattled south and west from Norfolk: the following day was June 16: Bloomsday: the day on which the fictional action of Ulysses takes place, and on which those who love the book will raise… [Read More]
Words and birds, words and birds…
First, apologies. Fallen behind with the blog. Book promotions, lots of running around, little time to look or listen, and even less time to write. So it goes. Yesterday I was in Cromer, for a Jarrolds literary lunch, and in the middle of it I had to take a long call to interview, well, a… [Read More]
For this relief much thanks
Swifts have become the birds of relief. They excite a sigh of gratitude: phew, look, a party of swifts, must be at least a dozen of them flying over the common, well, that’s OK then, things might be very much worse, we haven’t buggered it all up quite yet. I had just such moment, sitting… [Read More]
Of reeds, reed warblers and waterproof trousers
June 5 Eddie and I were seated on the ground. It was soaking, but who cares? We had our waterproof trousers, which of course are, the next best thing to a super-power: nothing that life could throw at us could cause us grief. So we sat and we drank – beer for me, apple juice… [Read More]
How to set eyes on a living sound
Eddie and I were sitting out on the marsh an hour or so before dusk when we heard the cuckoo again. Good. He – only a male cuckoo says cuckoo – has been hard at it for six weeks now. Cuckoos love this spot, one that we in Norfolk, without a trace of irony, call… [Read More]
Eddie’s Blogs
Here are the first 34 of Eddie’s blogs. Wild June 2019:2-1 Wild June 2019:2 Wild June:3 Wild June:4
Ashanti golden treasure in the nettlebed…
June 3 I was stepping out of my hut – the hut I work in at the bottom of the garden, in front of the marsh – when I found a piece of gold. Pure, shining, 24-carat gold, reflecting the generous sun of the day with such enthusiasm it could almost count as a rival. … [Read More]
Blackcap
June 2 There are a few bits of essential equipment for wildlifers recommended in my book Rewild Yourself, including the all-essential supermarket carrier bag, and of course a copy of Basho’s haikus. But I forgot the hammock. The keen pursuer of wildlife can’t afford to be without on. I took to my hammock on the… [Read More]
Wild June and a sky filled with passion
The boat is called the Golden Mean, but there was little moderation that day: the first day of June, the first of 30 Days Wild that the family, as encouraged by the Wildlife Trusts, will try and follow: at least one wild moment every single day of a wild month. It is the start of… [Read More]
Three birds of prey
When you are showing people your local patch, you want the place to perform. Especially if you happen to be managing the aforementioned patch. And even more especially if the people are not really wildlifers. Something esoteric and subtle won’t really cut it. You want to show them something amazing… First there was a kestrel…. [Read More]