Right time of year to start seeing where the cuckoo flowers are for propagating. They are super easy to grow on from leaf cuttings.
@jackwallington.com is the author of 'Wild about Weeds' and great at demystifying bringing wild plants back into our gardens with style.
The strength of a woman of a certain age cannot be discounted haha. I'm certain I could move a mountain with a spade and a few weekends of everyone leaving me to do my thing. The images of these posts of yours have me chuckling and nodding.
Quite an achievement! Also love to think there's someone in accounts trying to figure out if their system is glitching seeing those numbers 😂
Well worth reading the alt tags
#bugsky UK
Love it! Living the dream even with waspy surprises.
My one child is dyslexic and the only books he reads for fun are yours. You have created something truly special. Thank you.
I love a concrete mystery plant! 😂 I have mothing friends that move the leaves with eggs into containers to keep them safe from predation but I've not been brave enough to do it myself yet.
butterfly-conservation.org/in-your-area...
The 7 spot ladybird on the holly is interesting. I showed some seed in November and still need to wait a year or so before I know if it worked so I'm jealous of your volunteer one. They are supposed to be very slow growing so hopefully you get flowers more often as it matures.
Redcar's name refers to reed carr, hrēod kjarr, the expansive fen which lay between the Tees estuary and the coast. Coatham Marsh is the last remnant of this wetland and while historical accounts are a little shaky, may have been the scene of one of the final revolts against Norman rule.
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Appeasing the loudest voices today means more food insecurity in the future.
Feel better knowing the Farming for Nature network in Ireland is growing (pun) every year despite obstacles.
Highly recommend looking for farm walks with the FFN people in your area later this year. #SustainableIreland
Many of the potential use cases they suggest aren't even real life scenarios because they don't understand that a lot of the time the journey is the point.
This is the biggest 'close your eyes and jump', FOMO-based corporate buy-in ever and we are all going to pay for their lack of foresight.
Unfortunately my mind always goes towards poisoning when I see dead raptors. Often wildlife rescues are a good resource on linking you in to the right contacts. (Both for bird flu and for crimes against wildlife.)
Happy to think about them establishing in their new patch and seeding out. Good going!
A windfall tax to stop the companies profiting from this would also ensure they have less money for anti green energy lobbying and propaganda. The misinformation campaigns by fossil fuel interests are highly funded and repetition unfortunately makes the general public believe crazy things.
If you have cut back or stopped feeding birds then those old feeders can be filled with nesting material.
Join Deepa Senapathi for “Land management for beneficial insects & smallholder livelihoods” on 📅 8 July for #InsectHour.
This talk explores how insect-friendly land management can support biodiversity, food security and livelihoods, particularly for farmers in the Global South.
Early days but also interested.
The Semble network for researchers could be great if it means a better quality of search results. Google results for scientific papers are enshittified with an extra layer of AI smoke and mirrors. I just want to filter all the rubbish out.
Exciting :). I've watched a few natural fibre weaving clips over the years and I'm leaning towards trying dandelion stems this year. Nettle sounds interesting but I'll need to build myself up to it. I hope you come right.
Two sources to read more about Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí (the Marine National Park in co. Kerry) est 2024
NPWS:
www.nationalparks.ie/mara-ciarrai/
IWT:
iwt.ie/irelands-fir...
Ireland's first Marine National Park opened in 2024 linking ecologically, historically & culturally significant areas in co. Kerry Ireland into one designated zone.
Funding/management still needs allocating for real positive impacts.
Padraic's below talks in May cover essential insights on how:
Good summary of the current situation.
I love the movement and the hopping and buzzing with life. It's relaxing, like watching a fishtank. Think we'd have less grumpy people if everyone had a mini meadow.
The seeds have a very long life in the seed bank. If you get a thatching rake out and allow a little more light down to the soil. You'd be surprised what's there.
Lol. My husband is not allowed to mow because it would be too much work to explain why certain patches are left the way they are 😂. It does look a bit like a drunk is managing it all but I know what's going on.
Also little flags in the grass to help me remember what species I want to seed out.
Repair cafes in every town with a focus on teens. We seriously lack third spaces for young people in this country and have a big throwaway culture so I'd love to see a social and environmental good come together.
Much appreciated!
I just finished the 'Bundyville' podcast series (think grazing rights activists meets white supremacists meets sovereign citizens in the US) and was thinking I'd be remiss in not following things closer to home.
Thank you for keeping track. I consume a lot of content about far right movements but it's very US centric. Are there any good Irish follows (journalists, podcasters, channels etc) you would recommend?
The serendipity of reading, in part, about harder to 'quantify' labour such as spinning wool days after I was shopping for wool carding machines because hand carding is too time intensive.
Book review by @tomlukejohnson.bsky.social has me adding another book to the list. Industry v subsistence 🤯
I'm typing from my kitchen table while minding the kids on easter holidays so my sentence structure is dogshit right now but I hope the spirit of the posts makes sense.
Like I said, I think we are on the same side in general but appreciate that nuances can be both lost and interpreted differently
Conclusions of report: "Data centres in the context of Ireland’s carbon budgets" Prof. Hannah Daly December 2024
The recommendations from the above report are quite even-handed IMO and provide reasonable conversations for how to protect sustainable energy, displace fossil fuels and keep carbon budgets low.
I believe that prioritising transition for homes & essential infrastructure is real transition.