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 …
There are the remains of a small tree on Bovey Heath. It’s started to disintegrate and the trunk has shattered. Deep within …
We arrive at Challacombe farm to find a happy, inquisitive pig. It’s quite small and not too intimidating. It follows us as …
The leaves are turning brown and falling. Fall is the traditional English name for Autumn, it’s not an Americanism. Spring was called …
This Birch Bracket fungus is Piptoporous betulinus. It looks like a bicycle saddle here. I almost expect it to have springs underneath like …
In early autumn I visited Bovey Heath to meet John Walters, a fabulous entomologist, artist and speaker. He’d promised to show me …
Walking through woodland in autumn is always a delight. The sights and smells are fascinating. I’m delighted when I find a Deceiver, …
There are warty jewels hidden amongst the leaves on the woodland floor. These are Common Puffballs, Lycoperdon perlatum. It’s always an impressive …
There’s a beautiful baby pink fungus on the Heath. I suspect it might be Mycena rosea, the Rosy Bonnet: It’s hard to …
There are Fly Agarics in abundance on Bovey Heath at the moment. It’s tricky to find one which hasn’t been partially eaten …
Hedgehog fungi are one of the easiest to identify. If it has a central stem, a pale off-white cap and the underneath …
Kayaking always looks such great fun. I wish I did it more often. This kayaker has a couple of passengers. They’re better …
Maybe not.
There’s a big kerfuffle in the garden. Something’s happening in the pine tree. I glance out of the window and see a …
I always enjoy seeing pond skaters, as childhood memories flood back: Today there are some large ones on this brook and I’m …
We’re having a trip to Dartmoor and I decide to stop off for a quick fungus forage. Down by the bridge there’s …
I’ve been to Start Point before. I came here with my son one morning, very early, and took photographs in the fog. …
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 …
Walking around Bovey Heath we spot a Wasp Spider. It’s a fantastic specimen. Just look at it: I manage to get between …
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 …
Beetles are never boring, unless they’re tunnelling, of course. How fabulous are these tunnels under the bark of this tree? I’d love …
A few months ago we had a trip to Dartmoor and saw Barn Swallows enjoying some of their first weeks of flying. …
On Christmas Day we went to the South Devon fishing town of Brixham. It was a beautiful day so we decided to …
It was Christmas Day 2019 and the Puffin Whisperer and I went for a day trip to Brixham. We spent the morning …
Would you like to know the most effective way of encouraging wildlife this winter? Here are some of my personal suggestions which …
Spending time in nature really helps you appreciate it. I’ve had such a great summer on the gentle hills and cliffs of …
It’s a warm evening, bathed in orange light. I hear the call first. Then it’s the flypast. It’s a Curlew. There’s been …
I have to say it. These juvenile Arctic Skuas are… a little bit ginger. It’s fabulous to watch them sweep imperiously past. …
I’ve seen Arctic Skuas get into quite a few scraps this summer. There was the time one chased a Raven. Then the …
Three years ago I took a trip around my old home town of Oldham. It’s the place in which I grew up. …
There is a family of Wrens flitting along the field boundary in front of us. They’re working the margins for insects and …