This gallery contains 81 photos.
I’d read the hype – new moon, clear skies, planetary alignments, solar eclipse, meteor showers. I’d woken around 2.30 am after fitful sleep following a longer-than-usual day of toil: hedge trimming, rush cutting and raking, topped off by the now … Continue reading
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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
This gallery contains 78 photos.
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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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
This gallery contains 79 photos.
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
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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
This gallery contains 36 photos.
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 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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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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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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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
This gallery contains 59 photos.
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
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For an occasional, ill-informed stargazer like myself, I think the only pastime that comes close to watching for shooting stars around the time of a known, annual meteor shower is waiting for a fish to take a fly or lure. … Continue reading
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The unexpected weather window at the beginning of September which saw blue skies, high temperatures, and excessive humidity at last persist for long enough to allow everyone locally to make some very late-season hay, now seems a long time ago. … Continue reading
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There can be few more unpleasant tasks a sheep owner has to deal with than a case of blowfly strike. Or to use a more scientific term cutaneous myiasis. Or much more simply a case of maggot infestation. Over the … Continue reading
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After an end of July with many visitors and one of the best action photos I’ve yet managed of any of our grandchildren… Fiona and I were fortunate, this week, to be able to hear a speaker whom Gardens Illustrated … Continue reading
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Over the years, I’ve often made reference to mean reversion, at least as far as the weather is concerned, so it’s no surprise for me to report that after the exceptional “Lotus Land” experience of unbroken dry weather recorded in … Continue reading
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What will we remember from June 2023 in 20 years? Will we still be around, or even have the power of recall? Will I remember the sublime morning spent up in the shepherd’s hut? The timer set. The trickling sand … Continue reading
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Sun, Sun, Sun. I’m sure I’ve used Rain, Rain, Rain in a blog post title before, but possibly not Sun, Sun, Sun. It’s been a fabulous 3 weeks here in West Wales, with wonderful sunny days without getting too hot … Continue reading
The year’s rushing past. So’s this post. Just do it. Publish and be damned I walked out early morning to sniff the damp grey air in the first week of May, and to check for ewe noise. There was none. … Continue reading
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“Thank you for the view of Paradise”. After many years of welcoming complete strangers to this place, are these the most rewarding few words to have been written in our visitors’ book? Many years ago I recall writing a blog … Continue reading
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“How are you?” was the familiar greeting down the line. “I’m feeling glum. I’ve just read your email and poem”, was my unusual reply. This the response to our younger son, after a brief email he’d sent me which included … Continue reading
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It had to happen. 2 weeks of wonderful freezing cold, but largely dry weather ended and the last 10 days have seen mild temperatures, wind, and winter rains return. Along with the added disappointment of a cancelled family visit, due … Continue reading
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This time of the year, when a temperate Northern hemisphere garden inevitably has the least to offer visually with light and flower power at its seasonal nadir mid-November, it’s struck me just how many other of our seasonal markers have … Continue reading
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As Collins dictionary recently announced its new word of the year, “permacrisis”, defined as “an extended period of instability and insecurity”, it seems overdue for the Grumpy Hobbit to release another “Harmonies” video. Just after the first snowdrop has emerged … Continue reading
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It was with some trepidation that we looked forward to our last garden visitors of the year since Paul (and Angela) set up, own, and still run the excellent and useful Great British Gardens website. Worth checking out as a … Continue reading
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Oh, joy! Oh, well. Oh, dear. How to begin beneath a banner image suffused with golden light? It seems I’m not the only one entranced and fixated by October sunrises. We’re in the fleeting season of alchemy. Always a time … Continue reading
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The official 10-day mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II ended here, on September 19th, with a dry, still day with dense, quilted cloud cover, and hardly a breath of wind.We had already been gripped by the emotion of losing the … Continue reading
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New beginnings. Sadness, reflections, and yes, there must also be a sense of optimism and hope, beyond the mourning for our wonderful Queen, whose life and service to her nation is without parallel in global history. As our new Prime … Continue reading