A teatime walk today, starting off across the fields from Heswall to Barnston. I was made up to see loads of swifts, swooping over the wheat fields, as hadn't spotted any round here previously this year. Followed Prenton Brook through Barnston Dale, then home via Thingwall.

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Today, the difference that 50 minutes makes. The incoming tide at Crosby beach today. The air clear, a brisk NW wind has blown the haze away and ruffles the sparkling surface of the approaching sea. The iron men having their twice daily dip in the cooling waters. #IronMenCrosby

The beauty of the sea. A glorious palette of colour, from sea green to azure blue. The waters of Aberdaron Bay reveal their clarity in the strong sunlight of this week.

Looking like a strange red planet, last night’s setting sun at Crosby beach was dimmed by the thick heat haze resulting in this image looking like something from the pages of science fiction. #IronMenCrosby

This evening, the air calm and hot. A heavy haze softens the fiery disc of the setting sun, a glowing ball of orange light sinking into the thickening atmosphere over Crosby beach. #IronMenCrosby

So many butterflies this year. Peacock butterfly and a bee enjoy the sweet nectar of buddleia.

The colours of the earth. Beautiful patterns and so many shades of the earth in this group of pebbles found on the beach at Aberdaron, Lleyn Peninsula, North Wales.

Can taste it from here. Looks delicious.

Blazing sun and unrelenting heat. As the tide recedes leaving sparkling rippling sands the iron men on Crosby beach are once again exposed to the heat of the sun. #IronMenCrosby

This morning. The Rivals, Lleyn Peninsula, North Wales silhouetted against the predawn sky, 04.30 am.

The burning bush. Sunset just now, Dinas, Lleyn Peninsula, North Wales.

Unbroken blue skies, hot at 30°C. The iron men on Crosby beach basking in the heat of another day of high temperatures and unbroken sunshine; their view of Wales obscured by a blue haze.

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Early stroll. Heat has yet to make an entrance. Half-open gate as a site for potential creaking. Ian’s shadow walks with him. Light catches a pint glass on a low wall and won’t let it go. A dropped pen, leaking poems.

‘And lo the genie came out of the bottle’. An unusual cloud shape passing by just now.

#MorningObservations #Hot. Bright. Early #morning takes a brief gulp of air before the suns suffocating onslaught. A #dog barks behind a bodega #door. A stack of chairs lean towards the #church. Empty gas bottles clank like steel drums. A #donkey waits in his #feria finery... #words #photo #spain

Early stroll. A still blackbird on a fence. The hint of a whisper of a ghost of a breeze. Sunlight held in a parked car’s wing mirror. A mosaic of dropped sweets. A low branch tries to style my hair.

Last night. The iron men on Crosby beach seem unmoved by the splendour of this colourful sky at sunset on a beautifully calm, quiet, inspiring evening. A black headed gull strolled nonchalantly into frame, admiring its reflection in the still tidal pools. #IronMenCrosby

Tonight. A beautiful tranquil evening at Crosby beach. A silence only disturbed by the piping calls of oystercatchers. Tidal pools are perfect mirrors of the sky as the earth rotates eastward and the glowing disc of the sun appears to sink toward the horizon, coloured by earth’s atmosphere.

Out under a forget-me-not sky, walking the grassy margins of a ripening wheatfield. Yellowhammers sing atop the hedges in this noonday heat; their dry, cheerful rattle is carried in the welcome breeze.

I discovered this gathering of Leiobunum arachnids (harvestman) on the back garden gate. Many of them appear to have only seven legs.

Amongst the Sea Holly I spotted this quite rare white pyramidal orchid on yesterday’s Sefton Coast Walk between Hightown and Crosby, plenty of hedge brown butterflies in attendance Also @annieworsley.bsky.social, someone has built a log seat from driftwood and stones rescued from the Blitz beach!

A flight of swallows, young & older, gracefully skimming over a wheatfield edge dotted with poppies; chittering as they go, blue backs sheening in golden sunset light... So beautifully did the summer speak.

Fill it and they will come! A celebration of my new pond in today's @theguardian.com country diary. #countrydiary #naturewriting

Yesterday afternoon’s walk on the #SeftonCoast near Ainsdale. Wildflowers, everlasting pea, evening primrose and pyramidal orchids are filling the dunes with colour.

Yesterday, a walk around the dunes near Sands Lake, Ainsdale on the #SeftonCoast. Amongst all the wild pea flowers I spotted a range of orchids, Pyramidal, Marsh, Early Marsh and Marsh Helleborine.

Early stroll. Clouds crowd the sky. The pleasure of chewing apple pips. A faint and fading rainbow. Someone whizzes by on a bike, trying to outcycle the weather. Birds swirl like tea leaves in a cup.

#MorningObservations ... #Hot. Clear. The sun rolls over the mountain. Somewhere a cockerell crows. Swifts screech. Pigeons coo. Stretching roadside barriers clang & pop. A farmer sings at the #top of his voice. Silent #shadows retreat to #gold... #tree #nature #summer #sunrise #words #photography

Back from a few good days with family in Ireland so no more early river Suir strolls for a few weeks. This is a shot of the wonderful Hook Lighthouse at the end of the Suir Estuary.

Early river stroll. Overcast, quiet. A break in the clouds over the distant Tower House. A heron surprised from his fishing spot in the reeds. An egret is standing under the copper beech. Swallows scoop up water from the river. The Ogham Stone reads as ‘The River Garden’.

Late river stroll. The old bridge is mellow in the evening light, the stone radiating warm light. Up above, painterly strokes of cirrus clouds streak across the sky which is cross crossed by swifts darting and diving through the air above the river.

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Early river stroll. Cooler, everything fresh and vivid green, washed clean by overnight rain. Heron and egret watch each other from branches. Purple loosestrife bright against the blue of water and sky. The river Suir is crystal clear, reeds glow underwater. Wheat is ripening under Slievenamon.

Late river stroll. Warm but damp, light showers of rain passing through. The sky is constantly changing clouds, some tinted orange by the sunset and patches of blue appearing through the grey. Fish jump from the rain speckled river. A heron flaps slowly past.

Beautiful light through stained glass windows in the restored Cistercian HolyCross Abbey, standing on the River Suir, Co. Tipperary, Ireland.

Early stroll. Time has signed the sky’s portrait. Full skip as local history book. The man on the Public Footpath sign, endlessly walking nowhere. A parked car painted and decorated with bird poo. A double decker’s shadow moves across a bungalow.

Early river stroll. This morning it is all about the sky, wind pushed clouds race overhead, pools of sunlight, a mist of rain down river, a torn gap of blue upstream. The river is agitated, silvery, its surface ruffled by the wind. A cormorant spreads its wings to dry, a cross atop the old ash.

Last night. Late river stroll. Still warm and humid at 10.00pm. A waxing moon glows warm gold against the blue of the evening sky. Bats flutter around our heads and fish leap high out of water. A fisherman stands mid river as Venus glitters in the western sky.

Early stroll. Epic clouds crowd the sky. That fallen brown leaf could have arrived in a Time Machine. I get the feeling that I may be walking through rain soon. A stuck sticker with a comedy fish on. Those curtains that have been closed for years are suddenly open.

Early river stroll. Hot, sultry air, even the river seems sluggish, its surface a mirror of the lush green countryside. The heron poses mid river in front of the ancient oak. Damselflies hover like helicopters above the nettles on the bank. The song thrush is still singing.

Early river stroll. Hot, clear, even the river seems lazy. An early start to hay gathering and those ducks are holding a meeting. The bridge arches glow with rippled light. A song thrush sings with a wren. A heron and egret eye each other cautiously. Bramble blossom lines the path.

Early river stroll continued. Bright yellow of St. John’s Wort against the blue of the river. Sycamores are laden with seed pods. Slievenamon wears a skirt of cloud. A surprised robin in the bushes. Swallows skim low over the water hoovering up flies.

Early river stroll. Soft hazy light on the water promises a hot day ahead. Everywhere the rich foliage of summer. Wildflowers in profusion on the riverbank. Bright grasses sway in the light breeze to a soundtrack of blackcaps, warblers and thrushes.

Late river stroll. The stillness of evening. The river water quiet, reflecting the sunlit forest, golden in the late evening light. The old oak a dark silhouette. A half moon silvers the sky as swallows and swifts are black silhouettes darting across the rich blue firmament.

Early stroll. The sun’s unblinking stare. My apple goes through the phases of the moon as I eat it. A robin on a For Sale sign. That broken stick making new angles on the pavement. Shattered toy dinosaur: extinct.

Some of the wildflowers along the Sefton Coast between Hightown and Crosby yesterday. Pyramidal orchids, sea holly, common centaury and wild pea vine.

Summer Solstice sunset. The sun radiates glowing orange light on what has been a hot day at Crosby beach. Liverpool City Centre buildings look ablaze as windows reflect the lowering sun sinking into the horizon, distorted by the heat haze in the atmosphere. #IronMenCrosby

Most of us rush through our days without really looking. A bird lands on a branch. Seeds sprout. The way light filters through the leaves in the morning. Small moments of magic. They are the true substance—silent proof that life keeps working, growing, and renewing itself.

The fiery setting sun at the end of the summer solstice appears to set an iron man on fire on what has been a very hot day at Crosby beach. #IronMenCrosby