This is part 1 of a 3 part series. See also: Record keeping 2: Bird Identification SheetsRecord keeping 3: Seasonal Field Diary It was all very well living through the cosy Holocene period when the global climate was by-and-large just peachy and relatively unmenacing, but these days, in the thick of an unregulated energy pulseContinueContinue reading “Record keeping 1: On Keeping Field Notes”
Category Archives: Nature writing
Dragon Breath
When my kids were little they were rather fond of making misty clouds of condensation with their warm breath on wintery mornings. They called it “dragon breath”. Though not quite on par with Daenerys Targaryn’s scaley pups, it was impressive to visually witness a volume of air that had moments before inhabited every cell inContinueContinue reading “Dragon Breath”
Call of the Wild
Have you ever laid in bed at night and wondered how the heck I come up with the inspiration for my stories each month? Sure you have, it’s ok, I’ve wondered myself at times. The truth is, more often than not the nub for a story builds slowly in me, day after day, fermenting awayContinueContinue reading “Call of the Wild”
Two Blokes and a Spider Wasp
Last week we had some friends visiting from Dungog. Actually, just as an aside, I’ve always thought “Dungog” sounded like the name for a hideous swamp-dwelling serpent. Camera pans to a fetid bog where dozens of dismembered soldiers lay in the eerie mist…black-cloaked man on horseback mutters “only a Dungog could have done such butchery”.ContinueContinue reading “Two Blokes and a Spider Wasp”
The Gecko Overlord
I sometimes feel like a crazed squirrel when I’m stacking firewood. instead of collecting acorns though, I’m stacking veritable mountains-chains of cleaved wood chords. We have three firewood storage tanks with any surplus wood arranged like Hadrian’s Wall along the driveway to keep out the Celtic hordes (oh, they’re coming, don’t you worry about that!).ContinueContinue reading “The Gecko Overlord”