Dear Steve, Gilbert’s opening paragraph is largely Latin to me—in more ways than one. I can follow what he is trying to establish, but the detail makes me conscious of how much I don’t know, and of the opportunities to learn that I am not making for myself. What do I mean by that? GilbertContinue reading “2096 – Letter to Steve XXXII, Latin & The New Forest”
Tag Archives: wildlife
2107 – Letter to Steve XXVIII – The Big Holiday & an Elk.
Letter XXVIII Dear Steve, I hesitated before starting this week’s letter, only to work out which direction to go. By that, I mean do I at least acknowledge Gilbert’s letter XXVIII, or do I explain the 5-week absence? Not so much explain the absence, but talk about what I had wanted to do, but didn’tContinue reading “2107 – Letter to Steve XXVIII – The Big Holiday & an Elk.”
2038 – Letter to Steve XIX – More on birds
Dear Steve, It is strange how things work out, isn’t it? Having been late publishing XVIII, I was momentarily relieved that letter XIX was only a short one. The relief vanished when I read the letter, which had a focus on dead birds in the kitchen and birdsong. I had only recently covered things likeContinue reading “2038 – Letter to Steve XIX – More on birds”
2010 – Letter to Steve XV – From Ants to Stars
Dear Steve, I found it very difficult to respond directly to Gilbert’s Letter XV. His world was very different to ours. If I see something like an unusual bird, I’d want to photograph it, and then use the internet to learn about the bird, in the meantime is hopefully working on its nest. Gilbert’s response,Continue reading “2010 – Letter to Steve XV – From Ants to Stars”
1996 – Letter to Steve XIII
Dear Steve, Gilbert’s letter 13 is quite a long one. He goes into a level of detail about birds that I could never hope to match. That doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore birds, far from it. I love watching the birds. I have a hanging feeder which I fill with mealworms. I tried seed,Continue reading “1996 – Letter to Steve XIII”
1976 – Letter to Steve X
Gilbert starts his letter X by expressing his frustration that he has no local like-minded people with whom he can share his interests. Writing his letters to his two friends is as close as he gets to conversing with anybody who shares his interests. I found myself asking how long a normal exchange of lettersContinue reading “1976 – Letter to Steve X”
1810 – A Delightful Day
We went to Marwell. I have been before. but it was several years ago. The zoo is easy to get to, less than 20 miles from home. It wasn’t on the plan. but the first thing we did even before checking in was go to the cafeteria and have breakfast. As it happens, it wasContinue reading “1810 – A Delightful Day”
126/366 Magpies & Ships
When the birds condescend to attend the bird table whilst I am watching it, it’s either the pigeons or the magpies first. Now, if it is the pigeons, they are a little bit hesitant, obviously mapping out the garden to make sure there is no risk to them. Now, they aren’t the most attractive ofContinue reading “126/366 Magpies & Ships”
124/366 Squirrel
This was around lunchtime. I’d put food on the table early, and hadn’t had a chance to check it, but it hadn’t taken the squirrel long to find it. I don’tthink the squirrel was there all morning, but it was still there at lunchtime. At first, it was on the table, and was being pesteredContinue reading “124/366 Squirrel”
114/366 The Starlings
Oh dear, what a dilemma. I am in the lucky position of having three blog posts lined up. It’s not that any one of them is time critical, it’s the excitement in the anticipation of writing them. I suppose the first thing I should say that although the post title is Starlings, the photo isContinue reading “114/366 The Starlings”
