It's a dangerous game.

I needed some more footage for my hollow presentation, so I visited two trees on my run around Cottesbrooke. One was the oak where I got stung by a wild bee a few years back. No bees this time, but a nice lot of heartwood decomposition, which was what I needed. The second was Aulus, the Guardian Oak. This tree still looks really well, I am pleased to report. The inside is a riot of colours and shapes, so that was very pleasing. However, I saw that there were old nails inside

There seems to be just one herring gull.

So, I actually took a picture of the first fungal fruiting bodies sen in my garden, but, sadly, it was very blurred. They were at the base of the hazel. I had the same issue with a rather pretty snail shell. I didn't even attempt to take a picture of the fleeing jay. All over the garden, after a couple of days of hihj wind, are sycamore keys. In fact, you could see them in the breeze. As soon as I cleaned the bird water, keys were once again floating in it. I already have bab

An Unbrave leaving the safety of a lime tree.

Yes, there really will be eight days of extra special corvid videos and photos! Here is numero uno.

After a few days of persistent rain, it was great to see the sun... and so I went on my longest run. And the swans were still in the pond! Though not very clearly visible! I'd seen a couple of buzzards, flushed out of trees when I "ran" past, but then, in the place where I had stopped to watch the corvids, I heard the most wonderful chattering and chirping and singing of little birds. Turn up the volume! I was wonderstruck and trotted off to continue and I came across humans.

So I was going through old papers trying to find my examination certificates from when I was at school. I did not find them. Which was bad as I had to pay to get replacement copies. What I did find was this: a poem written when I was in Lower 4P at the Maynard School in Exeter. I would have been 12 or 13 when I wrote this. It seems that very little changes in four decades. One might ask how consciousness can go while visions and hallucinations persist, but, well, it seems log

...because there are far too many pictures... and if each one is worth a thousand words then this is a mega-post already.

I went to sit inside the hollow tree again today. Largely because I needed to film inside... and, actually, the process of going in and out. I went in and out four or five times. I think the entrance has enlarged as at no point did I have the slightest sense that I might get stuck! There really is quite a lot of space inside. I think two people could fit in comfortably. I saw the wings of a peacock butterfly and heard one fluttering. Many spiders' webs. Not a lot else. One I

This morning, as I stood in the conservatory, I saw a whole flock of blue tits along with the starlings collecting the food spilled by the pigeons. Like the long-tailed tits the other day, the blue tits came up to the glass, they came even closer, hovering in front of the panes. I expect they were seeking little insects on the windows, but it's as if the birds like me when I am on the other side of the glass. I thought I might be able to get some pictures of them when I put t

In the garden, I herd the squirrel complaining and went out to see what was going on. That's an impressive noise. On yesterday's run, I spotted a crow on the stag's head of an oak. Yes, very small - but what a dramatic sky. On which note, today, a rainbow. Not a critter, but, well, Iris was a goddess, so maybe she counts. And I saw a hare... I saw a hare running away. I looked for her form, and found it. I rested my hand and felt the heat of hare. To feel the body warmth of a

According to Kairos, he's been telling me to be a teacher since we first met. This is not exactly how I recall our relationship but his view is that it's not his fault if it takes me a hell of a long time to understand things. Passion has to be rooted. It's the ground that enables you to fly and grow and expand. Where am I now? What is happening now? Who am I now? Who are you now? And you build from that. And know it will all change––except one thing. That the one thing

Oh, how very sociable I am! Leanne took me and Eddie the dog up to the Peak District where we enjoyed this wonderful walk. The best part was walking along the edge of this dramatic valley. We saw three young lads climb, or scramble, up the steep side of the opposite tor. We did not scramble up––but we did have two steep scrambles down. I think I fell over on both and also managed to fall over twice later when squatting to cuddle very bouncy dogs. We had a late pub lunch befor

They were back at the little lake owned by the refurbished house that has geothermal heating. If you recall. At first I could only see one. But as I watched him, I had the feeling that he was keeping his eye on someone. I didn't want him to be alone. My suspicion was that the vague suggestion of white I could see almost obscured by the reeds closest to me was his mate. You can't make anything out from this photo, but it sets the scene. A glorious day - T-shirts and nearly mid

Actually, a friend. Someone I had not seen for years. It was great to catch up and to realise how very much we have in common. Well, not realise, I guess, but remember. We were out on the Reserve for almost three hours. A stroll rather than a hike. A chance to enjoy the sunshine, to meet up with Kairos, and to spot a host of non-native but nonetheless treasured wildlife: grey squirrels, muntjacs and pheasants. I was stunned by how low the water level still is. Nice, I suppose

A trek to check on six Sentinel trees. I was on a mission and did not carry with me the coffee et cetera. A short time and no hares - though I did see a fair few muntjacs and squirrels. Though I seldom seem to have "conversations" with trees at the moment - and I wonder if that is related to the increased doses of SSRIs, which, incidentally, don't do my liver much good - there is a sense of peace and presence, which I relish. She is, of course, Athena in the Greek world. Inte

This cat is very large and I am wondering if he is a stray as his coat tends to look matted on the wildlife camera. This is actually the first time I have seen him face to face. There is a nice place under that bush next to where he is sitting that I suspect had been someone's bed. I was looking through the conservatory windows. The next day I saw the long-tailed tits through the windows and they, the whole family, came to perch on the chairs and roses, looking in at me and c