I’m pretty sure these pigeons on the paulownia are plotting something. Or maybe they’re just ignoring me steadfastly.

Happening now. #NoKings

Friday night question for Irish Bluesky. Is it #spéirgorm or #spéirghorm? Is ghorm the possessive: ‘Sky of blue’? And another thing: most people (including me) leave off the fada, because we don’t know if hashtags like fadaí. But, if we could just sort out the gorm vs ghorm issue, I’d be happy.

A lot of weather here today in #DunLaoghaire #speirghorm #speirgorm

A bit early for #wildflowerhour: Horsetail (Equisetum), but which one? And Colt’s-foot (Tussilago farfara) on cliff ledge in Shanganagh, Co Dublin. The first contains silica and was used for scrubbing pots, and the second is reputed to be good for scratchy throats and coughs. #storyplants

Moon alert!!! Cruddy phone pic of gorgeous crescent moon, with a corona. If your skies are clear it’s worth paying homage to our beautiful moon 🌙

I'm made happy by all the excellent, slightly abstruse words in Urban Plants by @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social. Here's one: endozoochory (seed dispersal in animal poop). But my favourite so far is BATOLOGIST: one who studies BRAMBLES. Thanks, Trevor, for brightening this rainy day 😊 #urbanplants

Get outside if you have clear skies! Bright and beauteous full moon to the northeast. My phone pic does not do it justice. Such a thrill to see it after all the rain, rain, rain.

If you’re feeling left out because you couldn’t see the #northernlights, well I couldn’t either in light–polluted Dun Laoghaire. Just a faint tint of green, barely perceptible to the naked eye. My cheating phone, however, had slightly better luck. But, I still feel I didn’t witness #auroraborealis

Garden visitor: phone pic through window. He/she has been here quite a bit since the cold snap, cleaning up under the bird feeders. I’m pleased at the healthy state of his/her coat. The local foxes had a lot of mange over the last few years.

Just a phone pic. But it might encourage you to go outside and look at the magnificent moon, with Jupiter in attendance below. Lots of light pollution where I live, but the sight still thrills me.

It's an old and obvious pattern. An unpopular president - failing on the economy and losing his grip on power at home - decides to launch a war for regime change abroad. The American people don’t want to “run” a foreign country while our leaders fail to improve life in this one.

I managed an hour for my second #NewYearPlantHunt Seventeen species in flower. This clump of Scentless Mayweed agg. is so much hardier than all its brethren on the East Pier in Dun Laoghaire. And this Pot Marigold in a back lane has a very cold caterpillar on board

I wimped out after half an hour of my #NewYearPlantHunt. Didn’t make it to the seafront or any of the back lanes. I forgot to put on appropriate footwear and my feet refused to go farther. Still, I got about a dozen species in flower.

www.nytimes.com/2023/12/26/o... For all my fellow knitters out there, or those who know a knitter, an absolutely beautiful animation about this intricate craft.

Support the Bill to Ban Fox Hunting in Ireland 🦊 Background & call to action here 👉 iwt.ie/support-the-... @banbloodsports.bsky.social @irishenvnet.bsky.social #BanFoxHunting

I’m trying to empty one of the filing cabinets in my office, and came across this. No idea why I kept it. From the Daily Telegraph in 1997. Older gardeners will get a laugh out of it.

Irish bird-lovers: the annual Irish Garden Bird Survey starts tomorrow 🥳 🙌 🎉 If you need a reason to keep going in the darkest days of winter, count birds. If you want to be a citizen scientist, count birds. If breakfasts are boring, count birds. Got a few spare moments? Just count birds.

Well, this was a disappointment. Is there an actually delicious brand, or are they all overhyped? The chocolate on this tasted so-so and the pistachio filling was nice enough, but nothing special. #DubaiChocolate #speirgorm #spéirghorm

There goes the Navy from Dun Laoghaire: LE George Bernard Shaw

There's a roundabout in Cork where even during the worst traffic, drivers unfailingly allow others to merge in a "zip" by local custom. Driving through it restores my faith in society, every time. I just found out it's known as the "soundabout", and that's just wonderful.

If you’re still up and have a clear sky to the east it’s worth paying your respects to the Moon (it’s a capital M moon tonight), Jupiter and Gemini. All within the width of a hand held at arm’s length. #speirgorm #spéirghorm

Nothing I watch this Halloween can compare with these lines about midges I just read in Jane Powers's "An Irish Nature Year"

This fellow cleared the garden pretty quickly 😱 🐦‍⬛🐦 😨 I’m delighted to see him on the premises again. Look at his yellow eye 😍 #sparrowhawk #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirghorm

Catherine Connolly will be elected as Ireland’s next president. The second news item at present is the vast number of spoiled votes. My thoughts on spoiled votes in the ALT TEXT OF THE PHOTO #aras25 #aras2025 #spoiledvotes #spoiltvotes #speirgorm #Spéirghorm

They were too busy to go to the polling station. As you can see. We had to leave them behind. #DogsForCatherine

A superb nature book by Chloe Dalton. The writing is so simple and *restrained*, leaving space for the reader’s own feelings and imagination. You become as intimate as any human can with the curious workings of a hare’s fragile but joyous life. How anyone can support hare-coursing beats me.

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Quite a gorgeous day for the autumn equinox in #Dunlaoghaire Harbour.

Overnight oats! I’m bombarded by ads for them on social media. Now I’m going to have to try them. What’s the best recipe?

Excellent skies up there today and that's only right, seeing as it is #cloudappreciationday #lookup

My brain is tuned mostly to nature writing these days, but I still love writing garden visits (especially when the gardener is mad for nature). Here's my latest effort in Country Life www.countrylife.co.uk/gardens/coun...

Flower crab spider (Misumena vatia) tucking into a hoverfly for dinner. Isn't she just gorgeous? 😍 #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm

Seven-spot ladybirds making more ladybirds 😍🐞 Lots of aphids to sustain them on this teasel 😊 #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm

Eristalis pertinax hoverfly doing her grooming routine: getting all the pollen and other garden detritus off her elegant wings and legs. Isn’t she a beauty? The looped vein in her wing denotes that she was once a rat-tailed maggot, bless her. #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm

Midsummer in my bonkers front garden: it takes a lot of bashing around to make a place look this natural. Everything is drought-resistant & nearly all are friends of #pollinators Plant names in alt text #dunlaoghaire #Irishgarden #Gardening #flowergarden #pollinatorgarden #speirgorm #spéirgorm

#AshForFuture Ireland is requesting public reporting of healthy ash trees to help collect seed from plants that are tolerant/resilient to #AshDieback shorturl.at/vYbjZ "up to 10% of ash trees have some tolerance to the disease, with 1-3% showing a high level of tolerance."

@nicwilson.bsky.social I listened to your book. It is wonderfully honest and beautifully written. And you are a great reader. Well done on so many counts. (I also have those awful anxiety phone dreams. And also have a hag stone in my pocket to ground me!)

This monster of a Californian rose, Rosa nutkana ‘Plena’ flowers only once and it suckers everywhere, but I forgive it for a few weeks every summer. The scent is permeating my whole front garden.

It's #IndependentBookshopWeek across Ireland & the UK so show your indies a bit of love! Treat yourself to a new book, notebook or a few cards & bask in the glory of supporting a local business! #IndiesRock #BookshopsRock

I’m slowly and deliciously making my way through this #urbanplants book by @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social Piece by piece he puts together the extraordinarily layered puzzle that is our urban flora. I just love this book. Just published. I hope it’s okay to give it a plug on #wildflowerhour

I can’t resist two more #urbanplants for #wildflowerhour today Wall Rue (such a perfect little fern) Great Mullein (in my wall next to footpath — can’t believe a passerby hasn’t beheaded it) #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm

More #urbanplants for #wildflowerhour Dog-walk in #DunLaoghaire (where the council no longer sprays weedkiller! Hooray!) Field Poppy Long-headed Poppy Creeping Thistle Pineapple Weed + leaves of Broadleaf Plantain (swimming in blocked shore) #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm

#urbanplants for #wildflowerhour #DunLaoghaire Harbour this evening: Common Mallow Mexican Fleabane Buck’s-horn Plantain Rock Sea-Spurrey #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm

Is this #hoverfly Luniger sp? Don’t think it’s Scaeva — but could be wrong. Couldn’t get better pic. Wings look a bit cloudy. Can #entomology or #diptera person help ID? In Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. @jillwhitelock.bsky.social #insectID #invertebrate #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm

The current situation here. We got soaked on our walk (14mm rain so far) and this seemed the best idea.

Just got URBAN PLANTS by @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social Ecological, historical, social info, accessibly written. As an avid inspector of walls, pavements & other niches, this is perfect for me. You too, probably. Accompanying pics from this morning’s dog walk. More in alt text #urbannature

Perfect day in #DunLaoghaire

Baby starling season! #urbannature #irishnature #speirgorm #spéirgorm