So so close to 100,000 signatures to end the Guga hunt! Please keep signing: petitions.parliament.scot/petitions/PE...

I picked up this caterpillar in the garden to move out to a safe spot, and suddenly a white larva emerged from it! My guess is it's a parasitic fly larva. Anyone help with ID of the host or parasite?

Beautiful 22-spot Ladybird, Psyllobora vigintiduopunctata, looking so bright and pristine in the sun today.

First Early Bumblebee, Bombus pratorum, I've seen this year. She kept going back to that space down the side of the bee bricks presumably because it had warmed up in the sunshine, but it meant she had to keep ridding herself of cobwebs.

These two women are suing Andrew Tate, alleging he raped them. Here they visit the social media companies that created Tate. Please share. *one voice altered to disguise identity

A Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, patrolled the garden regularly today visiting every Lungwort in flower, drinking deep and long, gathering masses of pollen. #WildlifeFriendlyGarden

Quite so.....we need to do the right thing now or we will be home a mere blip on the fossil record...actually, that is the norm....

When the evidence is this blatant and it’s still not enough, trail hunting has to end. Support Northants Hunt Sabs.

Buds are bursting

The last two apples from our crop. They kept well considering all ripened so early. We almost got through to February without having to buy any, and we still have frozen and dehydrated to use. I'm so grateful we have space to grow organic fruit. #GrowYourOwnFruit #RealFood

But the Government won't act on any of this: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Zuhrah is in a critical condition, now on day 50 of her hunger strike she could die aged only 20. In 1981, Irish republican Martin Hurson died on day 46. The government has refused to engage & reverse the decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation.

At this very moment, foxes are being hunted, exhausted, and ripped apart by hounds all under the guise of "tradition." Boxing Day is the biggest event for the hunting community, even though it’s illegal. Share to raise awareness and help end this cruelty for good. 🦊

A little thread of ideas for your Boxing Day Walk (Trespass)

The Countryside Alliance are once again talking out of their (top) hat. 80% of the public, rural & urban, think fox hunting should remain illegal. The ‘rural culture war’ is a myth, as @jon-moses.bsky.social shows here: national.thelead.uk/p/the-rural-... bsky.app/profile/theg...

We are so lucky to have access to good quality, nutrient-dense, fresh food. We can just pop out to the garden to pick a wide range of salad leaves and herbs, put it on a plate with this morning's sourdough bake and some goodies from the fridge.

First published as a 'digital pamphlet' in 2023, and briefly available as a print edition in 2024, here's the free, downloadable PDF of our 'Winter Songs' mini-anthology, with poems apt for the year's end, and the year to come. longbarrowpress.com/wp-content/u...

Well of course: but there's a huge fight to tackle the problem of all the other chemicals being thrown on the soil and our food. One small step. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I was a little concerned for this Tern I saw down at West Bay this afternoon. It seems to have damage near its right leg, which it kept preening around. Sadly, there's not much I could do except hope. It seemed exhausted and only flew short distances. I fear the gulls will get it.

I've been really enjoying the Savoy and red cabbage sauerkraut I made at the beginning of September, so I thought I'd try 3 cabbage kraut: red, Savoy and January King. I'll let you know what it's like in a month or two. #SlowFood #FermentedFood #OldManMakesFood #FoodPreservation #HealthyGut

Swapped our usual Jurassic Coast for a few windy days in Cornwall. Nice view from our room.

And another step closer to oblivion www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Wild bird numbers continue to fall in UK with some species in ‘dramatic freefall’

The borlotti beans have dried beautifully, and beautiful they are. #GrowYourOwnFood #NoDig #organic #RealFood #NoPesticides

This is partly why we moved away from the "dark side" (as I call it) and stopped keeping bees www.theguardian.com/environment/...

WTF! Nuclear is not the solution. It's an expensive and dangerous distraction. Along with bonkers ideas about carbon capture and storage, Starmer's New Tory Zionist Party has really lost the plot. www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.bbc....

Well, it's a start. It's time to restore access to the land stolen from the people by the Enclosures and other lands grabs. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Our borlotti beans are drying nicely. They're not quite as big or bountiful as two years ago, but they are certainly as beautiful. I love the Dutch name of this variety, Stokkievitsboon, which means pole lapwing beans, named for the similarity of the patterns on the beans to lapwing eggs.

Somewhat concerning! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Homemade tomato soup. A scrummy lunch with some to go in the freezer. Heinz tomato soup has 14 ingredients, this has 4. The tinned stuff isn't too bad: no artificial colours or preservatives. Heinz is cream of tomato so it has milk products. Mine is tomato and basil, plus a little onion and EVOO.

Madly dehydrating tomatoes to preserve the taste of Summer's bounty through till we can eat fresh again. (We don't buy tomatoes any more.) Such beautiful and nutrient dense things. #tomatoes #preserving #dehydrating #GrowYourOwnFood #RealFood #organic #unsprayed #NoChemicals #NoPesticides #NoDig

Comprehensive evidence review on effects of grouse moor burning on biodiversity, carbon & water - a report the shooting industry doesn't seem keen to promote raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/09/08/c...

There’s a persistent myth that new solar farms don’t really help tackle climate change because panels are “made with coal” and “never pay back” their carbon debt. This is simply false. - UN: solar ~8x cleaner than gas, ~19x than coal per kWh - panels repay CO2 in 4 months; save 57x over life

It's nice to bring the sunshine inside. It's getting blowy outside and the Sunflowers are very tall this year, so I thought it necessary to harvest some. They do look great next to our beloved Carry Akroyd hare painting! #GrowYourOwnFlowers #sunflowers

Whose is this? I find it difficult not to pick up feathers. I'm not sure from whom this one comes that I found in the garden today.

It's that time again, time to save the sweetness and bounty of summer to take into winter. Dehydrating tomatoes: we like to call them sun-dried because we try to make sure our solar panels are producing the power to preserve them. #GrowYourOwnFood #dehydrating #HomePreserving #Organic #NoChemicals

Last night I was looking through my last sketchbook and found this little trio of tiny feathers taped in with Magic Tape. I had found them in the garden, I remember exactly where, and stopped what I was doing to carry this treasure of beauty to a safe space.

It's time that light pollution is recognised as a problem for humans, wildlife and plants. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Small Copper butterfly, Lycaena phlaeas, feeding on Common Ragwort, Jacobaea vulgaris. Such bright and beautiful things that lift the soul. It's time Ragwort was freed from the prejudice placed on it by a vested minority: it's an important food plant for so many small lives #pollinators #WildFlowers

It's hard not to feel despair and anger www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🧵Our countryside is being ruined. Nothing works. Our rivers are poisoned. Our green spaces are vanishing. Our wildlife is being wiped out - species by species, tree by tree. All sacrificed to greed, corruption, and neglect.

Just spent a fun 10 mins watching this ichneumon #wasp on our bay tree. Looks like he/she was looking for something to eat, which surprised me as I thought the adults usually ate pollen & nectar Please can anyone tell me which #ichneumon species this is? Do you know, please @kitenet.bsky.social?

"018" From #BlackSquares365 - Indian ink & acrylic on black Khadi paper I'm selling off the unsold work from this project. In 2018/19 I created an 8" square artwork from scratch every day for a year. Each piece was (and still is for those not sold) a very affordable £40 (DM for details).

"077" From #BlackSquares365 - metal foil on gessoed handmade Indian rag paper. I'm selling off the unsold work from this project. In 2018/19 I created an 8" square artwork from scratch every day for a year. Each piece was (and is for those still available) a very affordable £40 (DM for details).

"016" From #BlackSquares365 - ink on Stonehenge paper. In 2018/19 I created an 8" square artwork from scratch every day for a year. Each piece was (and for those not sold at the time still is) a very affordable £40 (DM for details).

"Hallos said food security must be a national priority and she called for the government to support farmers and growers to build resilience, stressing that investment was needed in climate adaptation and resilient crop varieties as well as water infrastructure." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

These apples are a variety called Saturn, they normally should be ready for harvest at the beginning of October. I've just picked one from the tree: it was delicious. These need picking soon. No way this year will we get the succession of fruit we planted for!

The first of our fresh chillies. We have them through the year, dried or frozen, but it's always a delight to have them fresh. It's been a day of harvests: tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, French beans. #GrowYourOwnFood #NoDig

Important to note that the UK government's £22bn carbon capture scheme was the outcome of intense lobbying by the fossil fuel industry.