Getting up early to beat the heat !

Magic Carpet, 2015, animated projection on the William Morris Gallery by UK artist Zarah Hussain #WomensArt

Just completed this beautiful book #MichaelMorpurgo it reminded me so much of the time I was growing up visiting various relatives farms 🌿

@wildflowerhour.bsky.social a day late but my #lawnflowers . The #redvalerian is attracting hummingbird moths at night which are are amazing watch and the bees love the #greenalkanet plus the lovely #wildroses and #buttercups . I don’t mow the bit of grass I have it’s for the insects and my dogs !

It's World Swift Day! ❤️ Swifts raise their chicks high in eaves or nestboxes, returning to the same site year after year. When the young fledge, they launch into open air... & just keep going! They’ll remain airborne for the next two or three years, until it’s time to breed themselves.

This is a powerful library quote that is all the more resonant in the Trump, Murdoch & Farage timeline. Ignorant people are malleable, easily conned & unlikely to think critically & make considered voting decisions. Don't be in this camp & please make friends with your local library #libraries

Found my second #slowworm of the year and sadly both were by the side of a country lane dead .

I learnt how to make a #woodenspoon today @WyresdalePark with a great tutor #PaulWilliams . It needs some work but it was such a great setting with all the birds flying about .

Our planet needs us more than ever and we all need to do our bit however small our offer - #WorldEnvironmentslDay

Please share- The @burylitfest.bsky.social is running a writing competition for children with some great prizes! www.burylitfest.co.uk/childrens-cr...

Just smelling the #peonies 💕

The #bees are still busy despite the rain . And the #foxgloves are all just coming out in bloom now 💕

100% this. Libraries are essential community assets. (And in the UK, authors get a small royalty from the PLR every time someone borrows one of their books).

Shropshire longhouse for sale by public auction. Once the home of the Ruralists painters, Ann and Graham Arnold, now in need of love, care, and cash. It’s a tranquil and beautiful place. Link in my linktree in my profile.

Join in the thanks and tag an amazing volunteer in the comments or by using Girlguiding Scotland thank you wall here 👇 www.girlguidingscotland.org.uk/thank-you-wa... #Girlguiding #VolunteersWeek #GirlguidingTayandOchils #ThankYou #Volunteers

Volunteers’ Week 1-7 June 2026 Girlguiding Tay & Ochils is powered by a community of 375 volunteers providing amazing opportunities to 1499 girls! This Volunteers’ Week we want to say thank you to each one of you for helping to make girls feel more confident, make friends and build their skills.

Following up on the “Bluesky has made me buy books I never would have otherwise” thread… …it’s free to borrow books from the Library that your friends have written even when you have a signed first edition at home. Ask me how I know:

We're celebrating our 20th birthday together with @leedslibraries.bsky.social at @leedslitfest.bsky.social On Saturday 13th June, 1pm at Leeds Central Library Do come along if you can. www.leedslitfest.co.uk/events/bluem...

Congratulations to our #TinyTeamUofG graduates, who celebrated their graduation from the University’s nursery today! We are incredibly proud of you all and wish you the very best as you begin your primary school journey.

Thinking about a new career direction or undertaking PG study in the fields of literary and cultural studies this September? Find out more about our unique MA in Literature, Romanticism, and the English Lake District at our Ambleside campus Open Day on Sat 4th July: www.cumbria.ac.uk/events/open-...

#peonies in my garden just beautiful this year !

Also, if you borrow an author's book from a library in the UK, that author gets more than 12 pence per loan in Public Lending Rights. Any author can earn up to £6,600 per year this way. That’s more than I’ve been paid by any publisher this year.

So many #paintedladies around today #BellWood

Who knew there could be so many different grasses growing in one wood . Yesterday I discovered #orchardgrass, #bentgrass, #meadowfoxtailgrass, #yorkshirefoggrass, #roughmeadowgrass and #cresteddogstailgrass #BellWood

So many #buttercups this year !

Fabulous read and even better to read outside by a lake by a fire with friends 💚

We had every type of weather yesterday but hailstones in May was a bit extreme! ⚡️🌬️❄️🌞⛈️

We are working hard to protect our #oceans we do need to hope it is possible if everyone acts now ! Projects like growing and replenishing #seagrass as we are doing in #MorecambeBay @DrHelenScales @litfest.bsky.social @lancasteruni.bsky.social #LancasterUniversityLecture

Very lucky to be at #LancasterEnvironmentLecture @DrHelenScales. @litfest.bsky.social @lancasteruni.bsky.social

We are always finding feathers up at #BellWood and it is a sign that nature is doing its thing . But sadly the dogs found a #barnowl wing today not what we want to find !

@wildflowerhour.bsky.social can anyone identify this flower for me at all?

First field mown #downourlane looking up to the #BowlandFells

#bushvetch @wildflowerhour.bsky.social #carrotsandpeas

Just read an article about young #artisans @theobserveruk.bsky.social this morning and I am lucky enough to know some wonderful local #crafts men and women who are shaping my spaces object by object. This is my latest purchase a lovely oak cabinet and shelves.

Not sure what type of #birdsegg this is it was just on one of the benches up at #BellWood @joncbirder.bsky.social any ideas at all? I have also found lots of dirty brown broken eggs which maybe #pheasant egg shells .

'Hare and Bluebells' linocut by printmaker Mariann Johansen-Ellis #womensart #Spring

Glorious day to be up at #BellWood and I found a few interesting items .

The best days are when everyone is chilled 😴😴

How beautiful is this #bluehymalyanpoppy 💙

Banks of bluebells #Cornwall

Annual #DuckRace to raise funds for #Girlguiding #Garstang and in total over 725 small rubber ducks were released into the river before being seized with nets further downstream . The perfect fun community event on a Bank holiday Monday .

Elm seedheads #Devon #WildflowerHour

Join us at our Ambleside campus tomorrow (Tuesday 5th) for this free talk on 'Vikings, Statesmen and Herdwicks: history and myth in the Lake District'. See link below for further details and to book a place.

#creepingbuttercup and #meadowbuttercup for the #buttercupchallenge #BellWood north #Lancashire @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

The very special place ( to me) #BellWood from the other side of the fence 💚💚

#woodpigeons in abundance this morning and they don’t mind how close you get ! #BellWood

You can’t beat #homemade #soup cooked #outdoors on your #kellykettle . #livingmybestlife

For this week's #WildflowerHour #HedgerowChallenge, I spent a happy couple of hours searching an ancient VC29 hedgerow, and found 21 different species. The Wood Anemones were all over, unfortunately, but there was one remaining Oxlip (just!), and a few Early Purple orchids in bloom 🙂 ALT text/names

Tiny, delicate ground ivy, by the Leeds Liverpool Canal in West Lancs. My knees did not appreciate me bending for this one after a lot of hiking miles this weekend! #wildflowerhour