Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

2 days ago

Country diary: Look again at these unassuming spiky bundles – they’re firestarters | Phil Gates Deerness Valley, County Durham: Rushes were matches before matches were invented, vital to the rural poor for a little light in the dark. Time to give them a try myself

Making rushes into candles isn't straightforward, as Phil Gates finds out in today's @theguardian.com country diary.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

3 days ago

Country diary: Spring is here – a mad mix of joy and discipline | Paul Evans The Marches, Shropshire: The call of the chiffchaff and the turning of the allotment soil – these are seasonal rituals honed over time

Spring has sprung, the grass is riz... in today's @theguardian.com country diary by Paul Evans.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

4 days ago

Country diary: My garden log pile is teeming with life | Kate Bradbury Hove, East Sussex: Loading it up with many different species – oak, elder, hazel, willow and birch – has turned it into a thriving ecosystem

Take a peek into @katebradbury.bsky.social's busy log pile in today's @theguardian.com country diary...

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

5 days ago

Country diary: The miracle of bursting buds – tiny yet astoundingly powerful | Amy-Jane Beer Welburn, North Yorkshire: Limited to the garden, I’m able to admire up close how buds are, very literally, a force of nature

Today's @theguardian.com by @amyjanebeer.bsky.social is a very touching account of the way the marvels of the natural world offer solace, distraction and remind us of our own resilience.

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

6 days ago

Country diary: A truly special combination of beach, hill and church | John Gilbey Mwnt, Ceredigion: There are many isolated spots along this stretch of coastline. On a rare sunny day, I take a walk to one of them

Late posting of @theguardian.com today. After a wonderful weekend at @gilbertwhites.bsky.social, I slept for nearly 24 hours! (Need to build in time to recover when you live with energy-limiting conditions.)

So here's John Gilbey's lovely diary on the Mwnt coastline...

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 week ago

Country diary: The weeds in my garden aren’t disposable – they’re edible | Michael White Cranbrook, Kent: Fat hen, chickweed and stinging nettles often end up in the compost heap, but they deserve a try in the kitchen

Today's @theguardian.com country Surrey by Michael White might give you second thoughts about some of the common #weeds in your garden...

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 week ago

Country diary: The messy chaos of nesting herons | Mary Montague Stranmillis University College, Belfast: There’s a fuss going on high up in the trees, as these early breeders have already got going with this year’s brood

Today's @theguardian.com country diary by Mary Montague is full of noisy nesting herons! @everyheron.bsky.social

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Gill Hughes

@gillhughes.bsky.social

1 week ago

Country diary: Return to ‘bitey horse field’ – this time with a plan | Derek Niemann Frome, Somerset: A small patch of land, leased by the council, will be the site of a new community project. And so we descend, ready to rewrite its future

What delightful read! Bitey Horse Field, Snail's Bottom .... @derekniemann.bsky.social
lovely piece for @theguardian.com #countrydiary #Frome #Somerset

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 week ago

Country diary: Daffodils and chiffchaffs are here, the wet months behind us | Virginia Spiers St Dominic, Tamar Valley: Our wooded enclave is alive again with bursting magnolia and questing bumblebees, while primroses amass on the lanes

A yellow spring is upon us in today's @theguardian.com country diary by Virginia Spiers.

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 week ago

Country diary: Return to ‘bitey horse field’ – this time with a plan | Derek Niemann Frome, Somerset: A small patch of land, leased by the council, will be the site of a new community project. And so we descend, ready to rewrite its future

Fantastic @theguardian.com country diary today on love, language, community and making the world a better place by @derekniemann.bsky.social. In the week of the #Frome Kindness Festival, read and be uplifted...

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 week ago

Country diary: A wildflower display of astonishing richness | Mark Cocker Drosopigi, the Mani, Greece: This rocky region’s abundance of flora takes the breath away – not least a long and winding trail of Chios chamomile

In today's @theguardian.com country diary, Mark Cocker whisks the reader off to flowery Greece.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 week ago

Country diary: A saliva test for George the pony, and a rethink on worm control | Kate Blincoe Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: Deworming horses is as important as ever, but not at the expense of dung beetles – which are coming out of hibernation now

Caring for George the pony and the dung beetles that his poo supports in today's @theguardian.com country diary by @kateblincoe.bsky.social.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Country diary: A dawn search for the rare black grouse | Eben Muse Ruabon grouse moor, Wrexham: Mating season is upon us. Will I be lucky enough to spot a courtship lek?

I do love black grouse, though I've rarely seen them. Take a walk at dawn with @ebenmyrddin.bsky.social and you might see one too...

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Country diary: Frogspawn returns to the pond I built with my father | Claire Stares Langstone, Hampshire: A glistening raft of jelly is a promising sign of a frog resurgence after newts dominated for a decade

Coming late to today's frog-resurgence in the @theguardian.com country diary by Claire Stares. Squidgy, blobby gloriousness in a pond...

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Country diary: Primroses turn a churchyard buttery yellow, heralding spring | Sarah Lambert Bainton, Cambridgeshire: Villagers gather each year on Palm Sunday to celebrate these scented flowers

Beautiful botanical @theguardian.com country diary today by @sarahlambert7.bsky.social

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Country diary: The art of noticing rewards with a mini glittering web | Jeni Bell Knightwood Inclosure, New Forest: I realise my knowledge of my favourite haunt is the size of the spidery-speck hanging in the heather

New Forest minutiae in today's @theguardian.com country diary by Jeni Bell.

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Country diary: Orchids, plums and pine cones – all bursting out of cathedral walls | Nic Wilson St Albans Cathedral, Hertfordshire: The chapel here is a wonderful curiosity, thanks to its restoration by a green-fingered Victorian sculptor

The Lady Chapel at @stalbanscathedral.bsky.social celebrates local plants thanks to the women of the parish and a green-fingered Victorian sculptor, in my @theguardian.com #countrydiary today. #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

2 weeks ago

Country diary: A riverside walk reveals the city’s history written in plants | Susie White Lower Ouseburn, Newcastle upon Tyne: Under boardwalks, in concrete, on window ledges, seeds borne by water and carried on feet survive

In today's @theguardian.com country diary, Susie White checks out Newcastle's urban plants with James Common, whose new book - Urban Flora of Newcastle and North Tyneside - is out today! commonbynature.com/urban-flora-...

@bsbibotany.bsky.social #countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Today's @theguardian.com country diary by Amanda Thomson...

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Country diary: When wild swans need a human hand | Sara Hudston Abbotsbury, Dorset: The swannery has been here since the 11th century, and this winter, after the storms harmed the flock’s feeding, it came into its own

Feeding the swans at Abbotsbury in today's @theguardian.com country diary by Sara Hudston.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Gill Hughes

@gillhughes.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Country diary: To the old quarry, for a Triassic quest | Jennifer Jones Storeton Wood, Wirral: Two centuries ago, this area teemed with workmen busying building Liverpool; more than 200m years ago very different creatures roamed here

Oh this is delightful from @jensoilandpen.bsky.social and zooms me back to my beloved #Wirral homelands and views of the Welsh Hills from my childhood bedroom in #Moreton. Never been to Storeton Wood but will now! #CountryDiary #Wirral

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Country diary: This is the field where spring arrives first | Nicola Chester Inkpen, West Berkshire: Its display of crocuses is the largest in the country, and it has a venerable history – but what kind of history, nobody quite knows

I suspect I'm not the only one who needs a @theguardian.com country diary about wild crocuses today, thanks to @nicolawriting.bsky.social.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Country diary: To the old quarry, for a Triassic quest | Jennifer Jones Storeton Wood, Wirral: Two centuries ago, this area teemed with workmen busying building Liverpool; more than 200m years ago very different creatures roamed here

Thank you, @theguardian.com country diary, for my word of the week: cuprous (relating to copper). A lovely wander through time by @jensoilandpen.bsky.social.

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

3 weeks ago

Country diary: Taking the long view of the farm and these fells | Andrea Meanwell Tebay, Cumbria: At this in-between moment where it’s both winter and spring, I’m reminded that nothing is permanent in farming

There's a temperate rainforest taking over an abandoned farmstead in today's @theguardian.com country diary by Andrea Meanwell.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 month ago

Country diary: A wet walk is worth it for the spoonbills | Elizabeth-Jane Burnett Isley Marsh, Devon: The birdlife is mostly staying still in the downpour, not least these large, striking waders that we’re lucky to have here

What a bird! Take a wet walk to see spoonbills with Elizabeth-Jane Burnett in today's @theguardian.com country diary.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 month ago

Country diary: A tale of two oak trees | Paul Evans The Marches, Shropshire: Our ancestors were captivated by how browsing by elk and bison affected tree growth. Now I am too by the human version – coppicing

Coppicing celebrated in today's @theguardian.com country diary by Paul Evans.

#naturewriting #countrydiary

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 month ago

I did it. I actually saw a Cetti’s warbler | Lev Parikian Walthamstow Wetlands, London: They’re professional skulkers, loud but highly elusive. And yet there one is, out of the reeds, to be remembered for ever

If you're not wide awake, you will be after @levparikian.bsky.social's @theguardian.com country diary on the not-so elusive Cetti's warbler.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 month ago

Country diary: The magic of knowing a meteorite fell here, of all places | Amy-Jane Beer Wold Newton, East Yorkshire: On a dreary day in a nondescript field, I visit the site where a 4.56 billion-year-old bit of space rock came to Earth

Meteorites, small prophets and magic in today's (extra)terrestrial @theguardian.com country diary by @amyjanebeer.bsky.social.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 month ago

Country diary: Wood pigeon courtship rituals are straight out of Bridgerton | Kate Blincoe Caistor St Edmund, Norfolk: I can’t tell which birds are male and which are female and, it turns out, neither can they. There is a system, though

Doves and pigeons are busy courting in today's @theguardian.com country diary by @kateblincoe.bsky.social.

#countrydiary #naturewriting

Nic Wilson

@nicwilson.bsky.social

1 month ago

Country diary: Was this the fox version of a ‘come-hither’ smile? | Clare Stares Langstone, Hampshire: The vixen approached the male, her mouth slightly open, gave a brief shake of her head, then darted off again

Birds do it, bees do it... Now foxes are doing it, in today's @theguardian.com country diary by Claire Stares.

#countrydiary #naturewriting