Category: Nature

I Told You So

Two years ago I told you so. Read Yellow Menace, one of my favourite posts from July 2016. A bit of Barmeath, a bit of Barons Court and a great number filmed on the Thames at the end.

Numbers

The fourth book in the Old Testament is the Book of Numbers, sandwiched between Leviticus and Deuteronomy. As we seek the Promised Land outside the EU, Numbers has a chilling resonance: the first generation of Israelites are condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years, the second generation are led to Canaan.

Wind in the Willows

This fine willow tree is beside the north bank of the Thames at Fulham Reach. In the plans approved for the new blocks of flats in this Conservation Area the tree was to be retained but the developer has had a change of heart.

Royal Mausolea

There are a few things that can only be done at restricted times. One is visiting the Mansion House. I had hoped to advise you to turn up on any Tuesday afternoon for an hour long tour but these jaunts have now been cancelled until further notice.

Mastaba

The Serpentine Gallery pavilion is still under construction but this summer it will be dwarfed by a giant, red, floating mastaba across the road on the Serpentine in Hyde Park.

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Categorised as Art, Nature

Nature Notes

I noticed this sculpture for the first time today. It is in Duke’s Meadows, below Barnes Bridge. Meanwhile, and most noticeably, the box moth (Cydalima perspectalis) is back in west London in force.

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Categorised as Nature

Red-Veined Sorrel

Red-veined sorrel (Rumex sanguineus) is easy to grow, decorative and edible. Like spinach it’s rich in potassium which lowers blood pressure and I expect it to become very fashionable in gardens great and small.

Barons Court in Bloom

At this time of year one’s thoughts turn to gardening. My brother mounts his ride-on mower, Rosemary and Ann attend to the gardens at Barmeath and I browse the horticultural section of my bookshelf.

Eating My Hat

Reggie and I were unadventurous yesterday. We reprised our Monday morning walk to Bruniquel but this time in low cloud and a light drizzle, or a grand soft day as it’s called in Ireland.

A Swift Hello

There used to be eels in the lake at Barmeath and probably still are. The lake is landlocked and I could not work out how they got from the sea to the lake but they did; probably through an overflow drain that runs under the fields and then through ditches down to the sea. Much… Continue reading A Swift Hello