EXCITING NEWS! We have acquired the 43ha Badiebath Wood in North East Scotland 🌳 However, we need your help in turning this non-native conifer plantation into a thriving woodland for our iconic wildlife. Head over to our website to find out more 👇 buff.ly/zmkTTM5

Have been enjoying copious cheese toasties recently. Must be the time of year. This one is Red Leicester with fig relish. Bit posh! My usual is cheddar & Branson pickle. 😋

Woodland in winter morning sunshine. Beautiful!

Have trekked through High Wood twice recently when out with Barney. I’ve mentioned it before, but each time I walk these tracks I imagine the horse & cart & the men with axes & saws coppicing the Hornbeams. What stories could these old trees tell?

What a glorious day! Blue sky, sunshine, a light breeze, 10 degrees. Visited the allotment for the first time in several days. Seeing the plot in these lovely conditions really enthused me re next year. Weeds have grown & the grass needs a strim. But that can be quickly sorted. Roll on Spring 2026!

Had a lovely ‘mooch’ through High Wood with Barn today, in between ball chasing on the field of course. The old coppiced Hornbeams are clear to see against a pleasantly bright sky now the leaves have fallen.

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I was just standing at the kitchen window when I saw the birds in the garden scatter. The bird on the fence (long distance shot with my phone) swooped in and landed. I think it’s a kestrel. Never had a BoP in the garden before.

Feeling a bit flat. Didn’t sleep too well. But a group of us are singing carols at the local brewery Christmas Beer Festival this lunchtime. The owner is a friend & the event sold out over a week ago, so I suppose I’d better make the effort. At least there’ll be free beer afterwards. 🍺

This is the big one. The petition to get the peat ban done. New Government, new petition, final hurdle. Please keep signing and sharing! Let's get to 10,000 people actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal...

If you have a big following, please share this petition to get the word back out there - we are so close but need to help raise awareness with the new set of MPs in Government actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal... @peatfree.bsky.social

UK farmers lose £800m after heat and drought cause one of worst harvests on record Three of five worst harvests on record occurred since 2020, leaving some farmers asking whether the growing impacts of climate crisis are making it too financially risky to sow their crops.

I noticed yesterday running Barney that the surface of the field is much softer & is starting to cut up. The latest rain has saturated it at last. On the plot the track is showing similar signs, but my beds are fine & the drainage pond has little in it. 2024 must have been VERY wet! 🤞for 2026.

Got a msg from a fellow allomenteer today that the recent high wind has uprooted 2 of my fruit cages. He was concerned that the frames would buckle unless I got there quick. Did so, but forgot to take a pic until afterwards. The one on the right still needs some work but they are secure for now.

If you are sick and tired of Governments failing to implement a peat compost ban again and again - to save all of the habitat it destroys each year and bring security to jobs and businesses in horticulture - please sign this petition actnow.peatfreepartnership.org.uk/end-peat-sal... I’ve signed

Our Christmas countdown for nature lovers is back! 😍🎄 A little bit of wildlife magic every morning... Who's ready to open door 1 with us? #RSPBAdvent

A super article. Winter really does provide such a show of wonderful structure and, as light lowers, there is an almost ethereal beauty that's just too good to miss.

We have 2 daughters, a granddaughter, a niece and her friend from Germany & Jasper the mad spaniel visiting today with son & daughter in law coming later. B & SiL we’re also expected but have had to cry off due to illness. It’s all a bit frantic. I need a quiet corner for a nap. 💤

I finally got the last of the spring bulbs, removed from the patio troughs when they were replanted, planted out in the garden. So many of the newly purchased bulbs that I planted a while ago are already breaking through. Thought they were supposed to wait until after winter! Crazy! 🤷🏼‍♂️

Beautiful day at the playing fields & High Wood today. At one end the council are butchering the hedgerow. At the other a fallow deer runs along the line of trees & disappears into the wood. In the middle Barney waits patiently for me to throw the ball.

🌳Vast areas of our most vital habitat are at risk of being lost forever. Will you join Dame Judi Dench and @wildcard.land in calling for DEFRA to fund the restoration of our publicly owned ancient woodlands? you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/br...

Lads I have listed some Acro props and a coal purdonium on eBay be a dear and tell some one who might buy them!!!

This afternoon I actually finished my book & I’m so chuffed with myself. With some severe checking & editing ahead it currently stands at just over 100k words. The real test will be when the proof reading etc starts. In the mean time, I’m enjoying the moment. 😁🥂

So much natural mulch on the plot this morning. It’s great having a line of trees near by. Do your stuff leafies.

Delighted to see how well my autumn onion & garlic plantings are doing. My brassica cage is in various stages of development. We’ll see what happens over winter. My new strawberry plants are also flourishing.

Called into the plot this morning after recent frosts, torrential rain & winds. When the sun came through it was like an early spring day. The track is muddy but my plot has drained. Yet there’s only 2” in my drainage pond. The ground is obviously still soaking it up.

What a wet miserable day. Even Barney turned his nose up at a run out. We’ll make up for it tomorrow. Spent the day writing. I’m so close to finishing my book. Then the editing & proof reading starts, not to mention seeing how best to get it published. I’m a first timer. Any advice will be welcome.

We have slightly milder, lashing rain interspersed with large, clearly visible snow flakes this morning. 🌧️❄️ I will be delaying Barney’s run til later. 🐾

Calling men, especially those over 50.... have you had an ailment for 3 weeks or more? Symptoms for prostate cancer may be dribbles, or they may be hidden. International Men's Day is the perfect day to arrange a PSA test...

PhD scholarship alert! Are you interested in cognitive evolution? Do you want to know how development influences cognitive traits? Do you love hanging out with birds in the forest? If the answer to these questions is yes, please apply to work with us! 1/2 🧪 www.wgtn.ac.nz/scholarships...

Well the journey into the heart of #stormclaudia late yesterday was horrendous & took twice as long as usual. B&SinL had a lovely dinner ready & we had a great evening. Saw the new fishpond for the first time today, built by BinL not long after recovering from 5hrs of abdominal surgery. Impressive!

It was only a few weeks ago that we headed to Cumbria for a few days & got a close up of #stormamy. Today we’re off to Rutland for the weekend, into the heart of amber #stormclaudia weather warning area. Despite what you may think, we’re not storm chasers. These are just coincidences. 🤷🏼‍♂️🌧️

Emptied the rest of my bin of Allotment John’s elixir of life & spread it in Tunnel 2. Get to work wormies.

Spent the morning on the plot in my shirtsleeves! Tidied the brassica cage, dumped the bolting caulis & planted out the remaining PSB seedlings. Weeded the long flower bed, planted a mass of bulbs that I lifted from home then covered it in grass cuttings as I used up a battery of strimmer juice.

Prostate cancer mainly affects men over 50, symptoms may vary. In Ben's case it was a urinary tract infection. This is his journey & shows early checks are vital for a cancer affecting 1 in 8 men.

I’ve now brought my bag of seed packets & my allotment planning charts into the house. It’s going to take some sorting out before I get to the point of deciding which seeds etc to order for next year. But I’m not in a rush.

First time working in the garden for a while. I’ve had a debilitating bug & we’ve been dog sitting Jasper. Cut the weather & dog ravaged lawn yet again. Surely that’s the last time this year? Will give it some TLC in the spring. Also filled & put out more bird feeders as colder weather is forecast.

More November blooms.

Haven’t posted for a while as I’ve had a bug of some sort & we’ve been dog sitting Jasper. Finally got out in the garden again today.

Have not posted for a while. Life keeps getting in the way. Spotted this late bloomer in the garden yesterday. Wishing you a wonderful day peeps.🍁

Gardens make up 4.6% of UK land area according to the RHS, let’s make the most of them to save wildlife. Here’s how - please share and spread the word. www.wildway.info/p/21-ideas-s...

I had a cacti collection years ago but apart from that, I’m not really a houseplant person. My wife even boasts of the number she has killed through neglect. Friends gave us this beaut several weeks ago when they came to dinner. Not only has it survived, it seems to be flourishing.

Delighted at how well the spreading Thyme has developed under my cherry bushes. I also planted them in the garden at home but those plants have been disturbed by my purge on the Chinese lanterns. First walk down the site for a while. Just one plot in poor condition awaiting a new tenant.

I’ve not been to the plot for several days. It’s pretty well shut down for winter now. Good to see my autumn garlic & onion sets are pushing on & looking healthy. My plot is covered in leaves from the trees lining the track. Not a bad thing to add to the horse manure dressing.

Excellent: part of a landscape scale change for nature in this area

Sometimes they are like this…… and sometimes they’re not.

Jasper’s come for a few days to brush up on his IT skills.

Still in bed at 11am on Saturday morning. I have things to do & we have matinee tickets for the local theatre. Does anyone have a bucket of energy available please? My bucket has sprung a leak.🪣

What a beautiful day. The wind has a nip but it’s so nice to have blue sky & sunshine. Popped to the plot to clear the outdoor tomato plants & plant out some sprouting garlic. Caught up with some fellow tenants inc John, who advised that he will be bringing more horse manure to the site next week 👍

Whilst clearing the poly tunnel this morning, I couldn’t stop marvelling at the fact that each of these massive plants grow from such a tiny seed. #lovenature