Category: Nature

Ducks in a Row

Two red-eared terrapins bookend a pair of ducks and a cormorant at Chiswick House yesterday. While the gardens have evolved the basic layout is William Kent’s and almost all his eye-catching features remain, including Burlington Gate.

Rare Breeds

Last summer I visited the royal mausolea in the Home Park at Windsor. The post covered all the good bits, so you didn’t see this.

Do Not Resuscitate

The local council, Hammersmith and Fulham, have one department with which I cannot find fault; tree maintenance. They regularly prune the crab apple tree on the pavement outside our house and plant new trees when necessary. Our streetscape would be impoverished without their diligence and care.

On Box Hill

This is the view from Box Hill in Surrey. It is a short, steepish climb to the 735 foot summit and I was surprised how may people had made it up there until I saw a large car park operated by the National Trust near the top.

Ko-Cho-Line

You’re never far from a splash of rain in Wales. To digress, I may have mentioned I am a member of the Worshipful Company of Loriners.

Carreg Cennen to Kathmandu

Yesterday we went castle-creeping in Wales. Conveniently Carreg Cennen is within walking, splashing, stile-crossing, gate-vaulting distance of where we are staying. We met sheep, horses and English Longhorn cattle along the way.

Red-eared Slider

The Arcadian purlieus of Chiswick House are a Garden of Eden post-Fall. Rats are commonplace and now I have seen red-eared terrapins or, as our friends across the pond call them, red-eared sliders.

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Categorised as Nature

May Hill

On Friday morning we climbed May Hill. It’s 971 feet above sea level and has a trig point at the summit.

Planting Trees

English gardens and parkland changed decisively in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as plant hunters brought specimens back from Asia. EH ‘Chinese” Wilson was one of the most famous, bringing around two thousand plants and trees back to Britain and America, while working for James Veitch & Sons in Chelsea and the Arnold… Continue reading Planting Trees