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This seems like a big moment. As this endless summer of heat and drought grinds inexorably on for us in West Wales. I reflected this morning that there has been no significant urban unrest as typically happens during such hot … Continue reading
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Vignettes from an atypical Welsh summer: The early bird catches the worm. But not this year. With almost no rain falling since the 4 mm that fell on July 2nd, the worms are in summer aestivation survival mode, and deep … Continue reading
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Utterly bewitching! This was the succinct two-word comment that Mark, one of my fellow AGOG’ers, made in response to the email I sent him, which included a link to this short video I’d just edited and uploaded in early June. … Continue reading
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The last daffodils finally faded in late May, after the wonderful, cool spring. Their memories are captured below in a final, brief video I stitched together once we’d replaced my failing desktop. All filmed on the day after Storm Dave, … Continue reading
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It has to be our worst garden weeding challenge. Ever. A consequence of very poor forward thinking on my part. We knew that last autumn was a mast year for most of our oaks – something which happens every few … Continue reading
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I scanned a fair few sites to find a suitable quote to begin this post, and felt the lines below best summarised the real joys of April 2026 in the garden and landscape of West Wales: “April, the angel of … Continue reading
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Happy Easter. No news has been good news, at least here, over the last month as the world continues to convulse. Again. I’m posting this on Easter Sunday, to record some of the many things that have occupied me for … Continue reading
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Ever the optimist, I’m hoping for the weather to turn in March. Now that February is over, it will be remembered for its lack of light (our gloomiest ever February) and only one dry 24-hour period. (As I write this, … Continue reading
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I was going to begin with the crime scene. Or should that be the murder scene, for that is what it seemed to me to be. Except that is, by definition, the unlawful and pre-meditated killing of one human by … Continue reading
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Once more, January has worked its magic. What?? This image, above, from this morning paints a more accurate picture of the often wet, grey gloom, and sodden ground which limits outside work at the moment. Not to mention the cold, … Continue reading
When the world whispers When the world whispers, then words feebly trace Memories and visions of light, time and space. No need for speaking, so silence is best. Walking or seated, our minds need to rest. Switch off … Continue reading
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I was surprised to see the Met Office forecasting in mid-December that 2026 was likely to be one of the hottest years yet (since their records began – in the mid-1800’s). After the exceptionally sunny, if cold, Christmas we enjoyed, January … Continue reading
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Another brief post to record that this year’s Christmas weather was unusually benign. It had me trawling through past blog notes, which confirmed that it was indeed our best ever – for lovely light and lack of rain, if not … Continue reading
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A brief post for Christmas Eve. “A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, For yonder breaks a new and glorious dawn.” “O Holy Night” originated in France in 1847, when the poet Placide Cappeau wrote a poem ‘Minuit, Chrétiens’ … Continue reading
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Our knotweed is rusting. I see that it’s another one of those garden plants which now has multiple, different names: rock, whortleberry-leaved, or rose knotweed. Or if you prefer scientific names, Persicaria (as I’ve always known it), Bistorta or Polygonum … Continue reading
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November 6th already seems an age ago. It arrived as a wonderful change after 48 hours of continuous rainfall, which saw 116 mm fall locally. The Met Office forecasts had suggested 2 wet days, but gave no hint of the … Continue reading
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It’s recognised by mycologists that West Wales (and parts of Scotland) are some of the world’s hotspots for grassland fungi, in particular the colourful range of waxcap fungi which typically fruit in late summer through autumn. In part because there … Continue reading
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After a deluge on the first day of a week’s break in Pembrokeshire, the weather perked up, and we had six days of glorious sunshine, light winds and fairly warm temperatures. A delight and a much-needed switch off for us … Continue reading
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After all these years, I’ve created a killing zone. Right outside our back door. And not simply covered and stabilised the shale bank with spreading plants which flower for a small part of the year, which was the original intention: … Continue reading
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Look at the NBN Atlas map for the distribution of kingfishers, Alcedo atthis, in Wales, and if you zoom in, it’s obvious that although it’s a widely distributed species, there are currently no records for the hilly terrain around us. The … Continue reading
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This morning, at dawn, it felt like autumn is nearly upon us. Early. In less time than it took for the kettle to boil for our first cuppa, the nearly impenetrable mist filling the valley below us had cleared enough … Continue reading
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Last week was quite something, in this insignificant part of the world. Culminating in me managing to watch sunrise on the summer solstice from the peace and quiet of our shepherd’s hut. A first for me, and an evolving couple … Continue reading
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With perfect timing, for once, our week away on the Pembrokeshire coast coincided with the final week of unbroken, dry sunny weather of this record-breaking spring. The Met Office has now confirmed that not only has it been the warmest … Continue reading
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Inevitably, over time, this blog has shifted and drifted in topics and style. Just like the garden has morphed and changed. Sometimes diary, sometimes investigative, sometimes creative, sometimes science-based, sometimes poetic. I can’t discern any obvious pattern for these changes, … Continue reading
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Before lambing started, I had several sessions collecting dry Purple Moor Grass, Molinia caerulea, from the uncut wet area of our lower hay meadow. I’ve mentioned this before since we use it as bedding for our sheep lambing pens. But this … Continue reading
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It’s not often that one goes to bed reflecting on having saved a life, but yesterday was one of those days. (So much has happened since I sat and wrote this, that yesterday, it wasn’t) Or maybe it wasn’t just … Continue reading
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At last! March has broken the weather run that stretches back an awfully long way, into 2023. We’ve enjoyed multiple dry days in a row, with just enough rain to keep the soil moist. And a fair bit of sunshine, … Continue reading
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A brief post to record a memorable weekend. Saturday saw some warmth (perhaps 12 degrees C), sunshine, light SW winds and at last the garden came alive with honey bees and other insects. Though I’ve still to record the first … Continue reading
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Let’s get the fleeting moments out of the way. It references the very brief periods of blue sky and sunshine we’ve experienced thus far this February. In the main we’ve had a lot of cold, grey, dry weather. And now … Continue reading
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One of my most dramatic local wildlife experiences comes later in this post. But firstly, I should record that the extended ‘dunkelflaute’ period has now well and truly passed (from the German dunkel – ‘dark’ and flaute – ‘lull’). Storms … Continue reading
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January, named after double-headed Roman God, Janus, is a special time for both reflection and anticipation. (Picture of Janus feasting – from the twelfth century Fécamp Psalter). For looking back at 2024, and forwards to what the New Year might … Continue reading
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We were due a change of weather fortune. Two out of three Christmas dates put smiles back on our faces, with their own special tales, and made an end-of-year to remember. Christmas Eve: As soon as I popped outside, I … Continue reading
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What’s in a name? This name. Darragh. The seven letters which gave this Storm its identity. Perhaps reflected its massive personality. Chosen long before the computer models showed something brewing out in the Atlantic. And eventually barrelling towards Ireland, with … Continue reading
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I thought after this last unusual month of November weather and sights, it was time to move on from the often-quoted poem ‘NO!’ about this month on page 44 of Thomas Hood’s Complete edition of Comic poems, written in 1844. … Continue reading
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Named storm Bert arrived overnight on Friday 22nd, and by the time rain eased off 36 hours later, we’d had 103 mm of rainfall.Fortunately, I’d done preparatory work on our access track, clearing out chevron channels and the central main … Continue reading
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Earlier this week I received a letter with a strange small knobbly item lurking in the envelope. I tried to work out what it was by feeling it. I couldn’t see any obvious sender identification on the letter, and without … Continue reading
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Friday Night Fever Night Drew me, etched my stretched back lines Night knew me, warm on chill cast iron No thoughts were passed, no words were said We were alive, yet could have passed for dead No shooting … Continue reading
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After all this time, why did it surface now? That’s just one of the questions I’ve been asking recently, after finding another object earlier in the month for what we’re now going to call our ‘Tossed and Found’ shelves. Which … Continue reading
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I see it’s been over a month since I wrote this: Anniversary Stars Why now, this day, this swallow time? The flight swoops, riveted I gulp Their bubbling kettle richness. Count, Or try as back and forth, High and … Continue reading
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Swansongs. Where did this word with familiar connotations of final performance, arise? It’s strange how many innocent words one might use over a lifetime without ever giving them a second thought. Until in the case of this word, for me … Continue reading
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Fire weather? The four crows of the anthropocene apocalypse, perhaps? Sitting in a leafless, dying ash tree. In our part of West Wales, this July certainly hasn’t lived up to an obvious Fireweather description. The Met Office summary for the … Continue reading
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Hats off to anyone who can identify the material above with its own aged patina, which we found during a recent garden visit. The complete element is shown later on. “To know fully even one field or one land is … Continue reading
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The recently compiled Met Office climate summary for May, and spring 2024 confirms my own limited observations. Once again records have been broken for the highest mean daily temperatures in a series dating back to 1884. But this was mainly … Continue reading
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For once we timed a short break to perfection. Not only did we enjoy a week without a single drop of rain, but our return trip to Felin Hescwm, just beside the sea near Dinas Cross in Pembrokeshire coincided with … Continue reading
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Write some first words. Now, Julian. While the memories are as clear as the cool May air on the morning of the 16th. A dawn of such clean freshness, blue skies and sharp shadows that my ‘quick’ garden walk extended … Continue reading
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At last. It may not be warm. Let alone hot. We may have had very few early morning sunrises when a golden glow seeps past our tiny bedroom curtains around 5.50 a.m. But at least we’ve had a few days … Continue reading
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We’re used to things turning green in our climate. The default colour for our lush grass and vegetation, vibrant lichens, moss, freshly whitewashed walls towards the end of winter, unwashed car. The list goes on. We’re used to regular rain. … Continue reading
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New month, new vibe. Briefly. March came roaring in, first with big wet snowflake flurries, and then, in the afternoon, a fabulous rainbow, right outside the front door. It waxed and waned in intensity, and I’d taken several photos, twice … Continue reading
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So far, it’s been a February for Frogs. There are concerns that nationally, in Great Britain as a whole, our frogs (mainly Rana temporaria), are having a tough time with habitat loss, pesticide/insecticide use and a relatively new viral disease, … Continue reading
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Food. And warmth. Two vital elements for surviving winter. Always have been, and always will. The buzzwords for this post which attempts to draw together at least four special sightings here over the last ten days. Let’s begin with the … Continue reading