Wonderful

last of march & sun still abroad at 19.30 hawthorn buds unclenching & the blackbird who sings all day deep in cover is squat & alert & in listening mode

Brilliant!

& hazel catkins in the tremble of light wind upstream low water & whorled shallows a neighbour swears an osprey came through at 1st light every small movement a tentative addition

Chapeau

Shame.

Robert Reich on Substack “…the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: owne...

substack.com/@robertreich...

Tate brothers again.

Blocked

He should go though.

Saw a Gran Designs programme which proposed modular housing units. The main difficulty was getting the modules onto site with our roads. Could this be a solution?

Agreed. Articles long enough to have substance but not be off-putting.

My Week: Vladimir Putin*

www.thetimes.com/article/5005...

Best foot forward. ❤️🤩
How sweet is this Redshank! Glowing in the golden afternoon sun, this red-billed, red-legged wader stands out against the blue waters.
#bird #birdphotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #nature #naturephotography #sony #bluesky #photography #art

It's that time again, so here goes with today's #DailyRobin set from WWT Martin Mere on the 06/02/25.

#birds #wildlifephotography #naturetherapy #birdphotography #wildlife #naturephotography #ukwildlife #photography #Robins @wwtworldwide.bsky.social

There is still time to go to the

SOLIDARITY WITH UKRAINE protest in London on Saturday starting at 12 noon.

Please repost to get maximum coverage.

Slava Ukraini. ✊🇺🇦

An old mill lodge at night, beside a tree lined valley, the clear sky overhead with a line of cloud along the horizon illuminated by the setting sun reflecting in the water; the lights of an office building visible at the end of the water

Good evening Blueskies! Busy day, mostly in a very quiet office, which is really the best kind of office. Did a meeting standing up! Crazy. Our evening amble took us by a tranquil looking cut, so I got a pic. Best time of year for liminal walks, now into March.

& winter winds bring winter thrushes - fieldfares & redwing - who sway in the purple-catkinned alders as the sun goes, but just after dark (3 days later than last year) the peeping sound of oystercatchers newly inland to breed, circling the field then making off downriver

It's the start of a fresh week so that means it's #MallardMonday, so here's Mr & Mrs Mallard & Mr & Mrs Northern Pintail, Mallard Cross & female Mallard.
Taken at WWT Martin Mere on the 06/02/25

#birds #wildlifephotography #naturetherapy #birdphotography #ukwildlife #Ducks @wwtworldwide.bsky.social

Enjoyed the clear thinking editorial. Thanks Hardeep. I feel better already

That's a lot of red diesel. How about taxing that instead?

Paris Ukraine protest

People in Paris, France stand in solidarity with Ukraine. The true measure of democracy is weighed in principles that transcend borders.

KFile: Rubio spent years defending USAID/foreign aid as vital to American interest YouTube video by Andrew Kaczynski

On CNN we played numerous examples of Rubio praising foreign aid as vital to American interests. We also revealed a letter he wrote to Biden in 2022 suggesting USAID's budget needed to be increased to counter Chinese Community Party influence around the globe.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL1s...

The world's richest man is stopping the world's richest country from helping the world's poorest people ~ @jeremykonyndyk.bsky.social

You can feel the cold in black and white.

Cotswold's

Winter stubble fields

X post: Elon Musk @elonmusk We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead.

U.S. policy was to help bring an end to apartheid and establish a nonracial, democratic government. In response to this policy and the Act, USAID/South Africa was responsible for financing projects that apartheid victims viewed as critical in promoting social, political, and economic change through peaceful means. The mission enabled community consultation and ensured that the United States did not impose foreign-defined solutions to local problems. USAID created projects and activities to respond to the priorities of the black community and its leaders, maximized black participation and leadership, and ensured activities had a linkage to the general objectives of U.S. policy. First-year funding for the program was $25 million, which was raised to $50 million the second year. The main project areas were community outreach and leadership development to redress the repression of black-led institutions; educational support and training to address the educational crisis in South Africa; black private enterprise development to combat the inhibiting effects of apartheid–induced discrimination in private enterprise; university grants to help create a new generation of economic and political leaders; human rights; legal assistance; labor union training; and health and nutrition

What’s his beef against USAID in particu….oh. Wow.

A portrait of a Scots pine last Winter with a transient thick coat of frost.

#naturephotography #landscapephotography #scotland #winter

& imbolc the creeping light, gone 17.00 still seeping out SW - soon the rooks will start bearing their building fabric - we all turn towards the year ahead slightly & slowly