Previously published in Kalanopia.
(I had cataract surgery on my right eye a few years ago and am now on the waiting list for the same surgery on my left eye).
The title story sees Alison visit the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, where she meets a mysterious naked woman with whom she has a strange connection. Two of the other stories feature Oddney, the guardian of a well and the work she does to help nature stay in balance.
The writing is beautiful, particularly the descriptions of nature, such as this, from the opening to The Cold Well:
"She sat under the waterfall, letting the burn wash over her. The falls were white and full, churning the pool into a froth of air bubbles and brown water. Little waves lapped against the rocks, which were scoured into a smooth curve at the pool's edge, following the circling water. The water itself was soft with peat, bitter with acid, flowing over her with a touch like a northern breeze on a spring day..."
This is an engaging and thought-provoking collection of short stories from the author of The Sea Road (which I reviewed here).
An Apple from a Tree by Margaret Elphinstone published (1991) by The Women's Press.
Lovely to see two Speckled Wood Butterflies in Crafty Green Boyfriend's Mum's garden when we popped in around lunchtime
The rhododendrons in the garden are also looking lovely
The cooking apple tree is also looking great, I blogged about that tree yesterday for Tree Following.
In the garden for 30 Days Wild.
This year for Tree Following, I've chosen the beautiful cooking apple tree in Crafty Green Boyfriend's mother's garden. You can read the post where I introduced the tree here.
The tree is around fifty years old and produces a lot of apples (last year was a bumper year and I gave apples to colleagues, neighbours, students in my writing classes as well as friends!). The apples are excellent in apple crumble or just stewed and eaten with custard or added to porridge.
Here are some photos of the tree from the beginning of May:
and on 11 May:
Some of the blossoms were already losing their petals
I also took a photo of the eating apple tree on 11 May
Towards the end of May, the blossom was fading, and you can see where the fruit will form
Another couple of photos from the end of May
birch leaves become
a flock of goldfinches -
fake news
previously published on Lothlorien Poetry Journal.
Write poetry inspired by nature for 30 Days Wild.
30 Days Wild takes place in the UK throughout June. I'll try to blog something about it every day, though that won't always be possible!
As many readers of this blog will know, we started visiting our local cemeteries every day when the first COVID lockdown was imposed, the two cemeteries creating an ideal Daily Exercise Route. I've been visiting regularly ever since, though these days my visits are no longer daily. Over the past couple of years, I have also been employed to carry out wildlife surveys (now completed) of all of the council managed cemeteries in Edinburgh.
I can definitely say that cemeteries can be excellent places for wildlife! Of course, different cemeteries are managed differently, those that are still in use for regular burials need to be kept very tidy, but can still offer useful habitats for birds and insects. Cemeteries attached to historically interesting churches are usually also kept fairly tidy. Cemeteries that are no longer used for burials and that are not attached to churches are, in Edinburgh at least, allowed to grow a bit wilder.
North Merchiston Cemetery is one of those cemeteries. My main impetus for visiting the cemetery this lunchtime was to pick litter. There have been a number of big concerts at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh over the past few weeks. This is great, it's good to have big concerts in our city and the stadium is an excellent venue. Not so great, however, is the litter left over afterwards. Specifically, plastic feathers from feather boas that were sold at the events.
The cemetery isn't exactly on the doorstep of the stadium, but I counted at least 20 such feathers around the cemetery as I collected these and other bits of rubbish.
Edinburgh Council is carrying out deep cleans of the area around the stadium after the events, but this doesn't prevent lightweight rubbish such as these feathers from littering the city (they are literally everywhere!). The council doesn't have the power to ban the sale of plastic feather boas, but also doesn't seem inclined to actually make the point that that would be a good idea, as it would stop the problem at source.
Apart from that, I had a lovely time in the cemetery, enjoying the sunshine.
One of the laburnum trees in the cemetery, in full bloom
A dog rose in full bloom
A Whitebeam tree in full bloom
A close up of the Whitebeam flowers
Buttercups and Daisies
As I've mentioned in previous posts, there were only a few insects around. A couple of Orange Tip butterflies, a Speckled Wood Butterfly and a few Bumblebees of different species. Edinburgh Council does not use herbicides or pesticides in this cemetery (except for very focussed applications of herbicide to remove invasive Japanese Knotweed).
If you're interested in the wildlife in burial grounds, you may be interested in Churches Count on Nature 2023 which starts tomorrow, Saturday 3 May and is part of Love Your Burial Ground Week, focusing on the brilliant wildlife to be found in churchyards and chapel yards.
**
Visit a Cemetery for 30 Days Wild
Pick Litter for 30 Days Wild
This lovely little poetry pamphlet, edited by Ian Duhig, is one of a series from Candlestick Press. The press specialises in small booklets that can be sent 'instead of a card.'
The poems vary in style and content, from the beautifully melodious Appletreewick by Julian Turner whose words flow like a river:
.. pasture rippling on the bones / of rock like shot silk,
to Duhig's own poem An Aroko for David Oluwale, a homeless Nigerian immigrant to Leeds, who died by drowning in the River Aire in Leeds, after a campaign of persecution by two local policemen.
The other featured poets are Eavan Boland, Kayo Chingonyi, Philip Gross, Kathleen Jamie, Zaffar Kunial, Beth McDonough, Eiléan Nà Chuilleanáin and Pascale Petit.
This beautifully produced pamphlet comes with a bookmark for writing a note to the recipient and would be a lovely gift.
You can browse the full range of wee pamphlets here.
Ten Poems about Rivers edited by Ian Duhig published (2018) by Candlestick Press.
30 Days Wild - read a book about nature
I can't believe it's June already! Some people say that Summer starts today, others wait until the solstice, personally I think Summer starts when it wants to start! It's certainly a great time of year to enjoy nature, and there are lots of projects to help you do that.
30 Days Wild is a project from the UK's Wildlife Trusts encouraging people to do something wild every day this month - find out more and sign up here.
International Nature Journaling Week is an opportunity to use creative writing and art to record what you see around you in nature. Today's prompt is Colour! You can find inspiration for this topic here.
Big Meadow Search, one of many nature surveys going on at this time of year, is a UK wide project to
raise awareness and interest in grasslands and to record plant species. You can survey any grassland, including a grassy cemetery or a park, and you don't need to be an expert botanist to take part. Find out more here.
I met a friend for an evening walk yesterday and while waiting for her to arrive, I took these photos of the trees around Polworth Parish Church and the Union Canal.
The Whitebeam trees are looking beautiful
There were even a few bumblebees buzzing in this tree (so far I've not seen many bees this year, so it was encouraging to see these, though, I can't identify which species it is from the photo!)
The white flowering trees are in full bloom across Edinburgh at the moment and looking wonderful. These include Hawthorn
Whitebeam
and Holly
But where are the insects that should be busily feeding on these blooms? Given that it's generally colder than England and Wales, Scotland never has the number of insects that are traditionally seen down south, but this year there are very few indeed. Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable decline in many insects, but this year, the decrease in insect life is starkly obvious to anyone who pays attention.
This patch of comfrey, alongside the Water of Leith, was buzzing with several species of bee this morning (Buff Tailed Bumblebees, Common Carders, Early Bumblebees, Tree Bumblebees and Honey Bees.)
I've seen people across the UK reporting similar observations on social media. This is a very worrying trend, not only for the insects themselves but for the birds and other animals that feed on them and for the insect pollinated crops we rely on for food.
The insect conservation charity, Buglife, are looking for people in the UK to get involved in their Bugs Matter survey. You can find out more about all their surveys, past and present, here. And Buglife are running a 'No Insectinction' campaign to raise awareness of the plight of insects.
Are you seeing many insects in your part of the world?
We had a lovely walk round Edinburgh's Arthur's Seat yesterday. The whole area is in bloom with Cow Parsley at the moment, which looks beautiful
Plenty of other plants are in bloom too, including Bloody Cranesbill
and Ox Eye Daisies
We were delighted to see this family of Mute Swans on Dunsapie Loch
and a closer look into the water reveals plenty of tadpoles, probably toad tadpoles
The Mute Swans aren't the only birds to have families at the moment, the Ravens do too!
