Huge numbers of Red Admiral butterflies on the wing today, presumably freshly emerged. They were enjoying sunny glades, & settling on nettles (as well as appreciating horse dung on the bridleway 😄). This species has benefitted from warmer UK winters & is increasingly resident rather than migratory.

The local lake, Abbots Pool on the edge of Bristol, is full of dead fish after last week's heatwave. Presumably lack of oxygen killed them all. It's distressing to see the results of climate change on local wildlife areas.

I wrote this 7 years ago In it I called for cities to better embrace greenery, reflective coatings, water and shading to tackle urban heat. More relevant than ever…. www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/...

That time of a summer evening when I can sit out and hear cricket being played on a school ground & tawny owls calling gently from the trees opposite.

Very meta

This morning scrolling Bluesky, there is nothing at all in my feed about Putin’s barbaric attack on the Ukraine’s holiest site, the UNESCO protected Lavra so I’m posting this here.

A few people campaigning / focus grouping in Makerfield have told me that even Reform supporters have brought up that Farage going against the wishes of Nowak's family made them uneasy. So these statements are both brave and important.

This blew my mind. Some of the largest data centers can require up to 5 million gallons of water per day, equivalent to the water use of 50,000 people. Why are we selling out the survival of our planet to enrich a handful of Big Tech CEOs?

Grasses, Ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare),Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus minor) and much more at Ashton Court meadows in Bristol. Walking amongst them on a windy day made me feel dizzy with the ground seeming to sway😄 #wildflowerhour

Ashton Court, Bristol meadows at their peak. Ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) & Common Spotted orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii) are their chief features but the motion and backdrop of the grasses provide equal beauty. #wildflowerhour

The grasses in the Ashton Court meadows 😍 especially the Totter Grass (Briza media) & ALL those Ox-eye daisies (Leucanthemum vulgare) plus Common Spotted orchids - a delight for the senses. #wildflowerhour

A fantastic orchid weekend in Kent - a bit of solo exploring on Saturday, then joined @mariposanature.bsky.social on Sunday. 14 species in total. Here's a commemorative collage for #WildflowerHour #OrchidChallenge @wildflowerhour.bsky.social @bsbibotany.bsky.social Names in ALT text.

Trump’s behavior on social media today is so unhinged even by his standards that I can’t help but wonder what the doctors really told him the other day. This is a deeply unwell person.

I’ve been reading a lot about the end of the Roman republic recently, and the slide of that empire into imperial monarchy. The stamping of the leader’s face on coins, colossal statues and a reworking of the forum. But even Augustus didn’t build himself a ballroom-fortress.

As Spring has progressed, & following last week's rain, the fallen branch near Burrator covered in moss, wood sorrel & ferns has grown even more ferny & wood sorrely #Dartmoor #Devon #WildflowerHour

I recently watched an interview where actor /comedian Martin Short, talking about his daughter who passed away, said: “She did the best she could until she couldn’t,” and described mental illness as often being a “terminal disease.” We need more compassionate honesty and conversations like this

Walk in the woods, Lee Moor Heard cuckoos calling at various points along the route, an increasingly rare sound in recent years #Dartmoor #Devon

This is the worst British performance in Europe since the Somme.

Sneaking a giant screen into the flagshagger march is one of the funniest things @ledbydonkeys.org have ever done. "STAY HYDRATED" 😂🤣😂

The buttercups at Ashton Court, Bristol are almost as good as the orchids there 😄

Seeing a plant you’ve not seen for a while is just like catching up with an old friend. So happy to see some gorgeous Fly Orchids this weekend too! Fascinating & enchanting in equal measure! 🥰 Ophrys insectifera #Wildflowerhour

What do you get when you cross a Fly Orchid with a Bee Orchid? This little cutie, that’s what! 😍 So excited to see the Fly x Bee hybrid this weekend! #Wildflowerhour

Oh, go on then... a few more Green-winged Orchids (Anacamptis morio) from Ashton Court, Bristol. #wildflowerhour

Probably hundreds of thousands of Green-winged orchids (Anacamptis morio)on the meadows of Ashton Court park, Bristol. A gorgeous spectacle, with orchids in bi-colours, pale pinks, whites & much more. #wildflowerhour

Spring flowers from the garden: Iceberg roses, a sprig of Choisya & snippings of vanilla-scented nemesia. Essence of May in a vase 💚🤍🩷

A good year for Holly Blues as I'm seeing them everywhere - & lots in my Bristol garden (where there's plenty of holly & ivy) They're often around the bay trees & the only reason I can think of is scale insect honeydew - as the bay trees are riddled with them...

The unmistakable sound of a nightingale at Ebernoe Common nature reserve. A beautiful wild place in West Sussex. Heard at least two singing today along with blackcaps, chiffchaffs, wrens, blackbirds, garden warblers and robins. @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #nightingales

Love this waterfall into a little pool in a tufa stream. Moss, ivy & ferns, the leaning trunks in the woods. My little collies always stop for a drink here too.

The amount of AI book covers I saw at B&N today was depressing. I just hope that publishers realize that not only will I not read it, I wont even pick it up to look at the back, I do not care who the author is. "Don't judge a book by it's cover?" OHooooo, yeah I will.

Close up of one of the delicate wood sorrel flowers - just growing happily away on a mossy fallen branch #Dartmoor #Devon #WildflowerHour

Just Bellis perennis - the Common Daisy - growing in grass. #wildflowerhour

Bluebells in local woods. My favourite time of year 💙

Daisies in a lawn. Such a pretty sight, you wonder whoever had the idea to get rid of them!

Bristol Rare Plants Fair 😍 Lots of orchids & a super atmosphere with super food stalls outside ( Malaysuan & Sudanese),people sitting in the sunshine (watching the mining bees in the grass) familiar faces, & growers both passionate & knowledgeable about their plants.

First go at caning. I'm reasonably pleased though there are things I can improve for next time. This broken stool from a house clearance has a new lease of life at least. I stained the new cane down with VanDyke crystals in solution which are apparently made from walnut husks.

Spring blossom pick-me-up🩷🤍

Caisson Gardens near Bath this afternoon full of tulips and fruit blossom. This was in the Walled Garden where there are beds of cutting flowers, fruit & vegetables.

Corfu wildflowers... morning photos sent by my son & his gf who are walking the Corfu Trail. A very blue honesty & Judas trees in bloom everywhere - plus bee orchid types & Tassel hyacinths. Very lovely!

Love to hear that my Physics student son, who loved reading Pride and Prejudice, is trying to persuade other male physics friends to read it too, because it's chiefly a really good comedy - not a romance.

Daffodils for Good Friday. The scented white Thalias are from a corner of my garden, while the pretty peach ones were from Tesco. The trumpets are yellow when they open then change to apricot and with the white petals remind me of eggs! Anyone know what type they might be? They're quite short.

Wild Garlic flower and its shadow in some very welcome warm sunshine today.

A homemade Easter Simnel cake with homemade toasted marzipan topping too 😋 I actually prefer this to Christmas cake as orange & lemon zests make them fruitier & their flavour isn't overpowered with dark sugar & treacle. Traditionally - in our house - my husband's birthday cake 😄

Just before the hail there was sunshine - though it was cold & windy - & a surprise first Green-winged orchid of the season for me. Beside the golf course at Ashton Court in Bristol.

Wind & solar are currently producing 65% of Britain's electricity. Meanwhile, renewables now offer 30,000 more UK jobs than oil and gas. Meanwhile, we're in a climate emergency. Meanwhile, we're in a fossil fuel supply crisis. Meanwhile, the Tories and Reform want to scrap Net Zero. grid.iamkate.com

Daffodils and forsythia. The pink trumpeted daffs might be Mrs R. O. Backhouse 🤔 I definitely planted them as I planted all the daffodils here, but most were in tubs first.

A sunny walk at Ashton Court this afternoon. Daffodils in the avenue are going over but the celandines are a treat! Skylarks singing, lots of peacock butterflies being territorial, a flitting brimstone, bee-flies on a large patch of primroses, a few bluebells already open - Spring jumps forward!

What are Lidl doing to Hot Cross Buns? It took me ages to track down traditional ones but meanwhile I found: Clementine Salted Caramel Double Chocolate Apple & Cinnamon and CHEESE Hot Cross Buns 😳😬

My two collies in the wars. The boy one collided with the girl so hard he broke his canine & left it embedded in her head. Wasn't until the next day anyone noticed as both dogs were unperturbed & playing as vigorously as ever. Anyway, the vet said they'd never seen anything like it😬

Plenty of #WhiteFlowers out there for the #wildflowerhour challenge this week! See ALT text for details of my favourites including that lovely white Violet. @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

An amazing year for Sweet violets in Ely, this patch of var. dumetorum almost qualifying for the #WhiteFlowers challenge. #WildflowerHour