Tag Archives: #Northwestnatureandhistory

Gallinago the Bog Drummer

If you’ve ever stood in the reeds of Chat Moss, the wet sheep-pastures of the Ribble estuary, the peat-bogs of Bowland or the rushy fields around Martin Mere on a still April evening, you might have heard a weird, somewhat spooky, sound that you couldn’t quite put your finger on; a bleating, almost goat-like humming that seemed to come from the sky itself, and you may have wondered what made it.

Flavoparmelia caperata, the Common Greenshield Lichen

A look at one of our Most Common Foliose Lichens, with some Notes about Uses for Measuring Air Pollution and Chemical ‘K, C and Pd Identification Tests

Upland Farming in the Backend of the Year

This time of year, (around the end of November / start of December as of writing) is known as the “hinge of the year” by upland farmers. The clocks have gone back, the bracken has bleached to rust, and the last of the swallows are long gone. Up on the fells the year’s main outdoor work might be done, yet it never really stops. This is the season of maintenance, mending, and quiet worry.

Bill’s Christmases

A Poem by Cicely Fox Smith “Christmas,” said Bill, “on Christmas cards, it’s winders all aglow,An’ lots o’ stuff to eat an’ drink an’ a good three feet o’ snow,An’ a bunch o’ bouncin’ girls to kiss under the mistletoe. Holly an’ robin redbreasts too, as rosy as can be,An’ waits an’ chimes an’ allContinue reading “Bill’s Christmases”