Since when was the Cotswolds in Mesopotamia?
Sheep. They’re fascinating animals. There are 23 million sheep in the UK. That’s a lot of sheep. Sheep are frequently described as …
Sunset over Tafts
One of my favourite photographs from Orkney is Sunset over Tafts. It sums up the surprising drama of a landscape, which is …
Rock Pipits
There’s a noisy young pipit on the rocks. It’s the perfect colour for these lichen covered rocks. It has a lovely delicate …
The child within
There are the remains of a small tree on Bovey Heath. It’s started to disintegrate and the trunk has shattered. Deep within …
Piggy little lies
We arrive at Challacombe farm to find a happy, inquisitive pig. It’s quite small and not too intimidating. It follows us as …
Green islands in the fall of the leaf
The leaves are turning brown and falling. Fall is the traditional English name for Autumn, it’s not an Americanism. Spring was called …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Recommendation #26
Rewilding by Richard Durrant.
Birch Brackets and extinct elephants
This Birch Bracket fungus is Piptoporous betulinus. It looks like a bicycle saddle here. I almost expect it to have springs underneath like …
Pottering amongst the potters of Bovey Heath
In early autumn I visited Bovey Heath to meet John Walters, a fabulous entomologist, artist and speaker. He’d promised to show me …
Deceptive
Walking through woodland in autumn is always a delight. The sights and smells are fascinating. I’m delighted when I find a Deceiver, …
Jewels in autumn leaves
There are warty jewels hidden amongst the leaves on the woodland floor. These are Common Puffballs, Lycoperdon perlatum. It’s always an impressive …
Baby pink mushrooms which smell of radish
There’s a beautiful baby pink fungus on the Heath. I suspect it might be Mycena rosea, the Rosy Bonnet: It’s hard to …
Fly Agarics
There are Fly Agarics in abundance on Bovey Heath at the moment. It’s tricky to find one which hasn’t been partially eaten …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Recommendation #25
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Recommendation. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon …
A waterfall of Hedgehogs and Rubber Brush risotto
Hedgehog fungi are one of the easiest to identify. If it has a central stem, a pale off-white cap and the underneath …
Doggy Paddle
Kayaking always looks such great fun. I wish I did it more often. This kayaker has a couple of passengers. They’re better …
With this ring…
Maybe not.
A Squab
There’s a big kerfuffle in the garden. Something’s happening in the pine tree. I glance out of the window and see a …
Skating on water
I always enjoy seeing pond skaters, as childhood memories flood back: Today there are some large ones on this brook and I’m …
The Sundews of boggy pools and peaty moors
We’re having a trip to Dartmoor and I decide to stop off for a quick fungus forage. Down by the bridge there’s …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Recommendation #24
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Recommendation. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon …
An early Start Point
I’ve been to Start Point before. I came here with my son one morning, very early, and took photographs in the fog. …
The Drumstick Truffleclub
There’s a fungus which is barely visible on the forest floor. It’s Tolypocladium capitatum, the Drumstick Truffleclub. It’s a parasitic fungus which …
The Wasp Spider
Walking around Bovey Heath we spot a Wasp Spider. It’s a fantastic specimen. Just look at it: I manage to get between …
Challacombe Chickens
These chickens at Challacombe Farm have the look of an ancient painting about them. The farm is owned, like 52,760 hectares of land and …
Boring beetles
Beetles are never boring, unless they’re tunnelling, of course. How fabulous are these tunnels under the bark of this tree? I’d love …
Late Swallows walking the high barbed wire
A few months ago we had a trip to Dartmoor and saw Barn Swallows enjoying some of their first weeks of flying. …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Recommendation #23
An Orkney Triptych – Book One by Erland Cooper and Alex Kozobolis
Fake is not the four letter word you were looking for…
On Christmas Day we went to the South Devon fishing town of Brixham. It was a beautiful day so we decided to …
Dolphins in Brixham Harbour
It was Christmas Day 2019 and the Puffin Whisperer and I went for a day trip to Brixham. We spent the morning …