Battered

Regular readers of my blog know, that I am in awe of ‘common as muck’. No, not an insult. I love things and creatures we all take for granted and I spend a lot of time looking at them from all sorts of angles. When I do post about nature, you will – in all

Gratitude

And no, this is not about journalling, or mantras, or any other type of positive affirmation. I simply want to share my gratitude for snails today. Yes, they eat what I would like to eat, too… tiny snag. But I’m willing to share my basil leaves. Well, I choose to consider some of my herbs

Slow

We’re almost at the end of our first week here in Germany with my dad and I have fully arrived in the slow lane. I struggle with the concept of slow. No. It’s more than that. I struggle to even say the word ‘slow’ the way it should be said. Slowly, of course. In German,

Snail pace Sunday

Sunday and after a light morning rain, the sun is back in full force and so are the snails. My garden, almost inaccessible. An obstacle course. Snails everywhere. I tired to step over them, attempted to sverve elegantly around them, but in the end, I had to give up. Here’s the dilemma: With size 8

Multi-skilled snails inhabit my garden

Not just a headline! This is nothing but the truth and I’ve got proof! At this point in time I am observing a cute cepaea nemoralis, and yes, that’s the common garden snail. I’ve got loads of them here and I’m keeping my eye on one in particular. For a good reason. I admire her

Snailwatch

Here’s the highlight of my day so far: I’ve been watching two snails as they munched their way through one of the last leftover daffodils in my garden. Quite a serene spectacle and I have to say, I enjoyed it very, very much. I also saw my first orange tip butterfly of the season. Finally!

Snails, yes! Slugs, no!

Today, my morning peace was severely disrupted by a rather unflattering epiphany. Sometimes we find out things about ourselves, we didn’t expect and would most definitely prefer to stuff right back into the unsightly abyss they came from. Unfortunately, once such an unpleasant discovery has been let out of the box, it will never fit

My summer solstice in three pictures

My summer solstice. Well, here we go… while in Stonehenge, others danced barefoot around the standing stones in billowing vintage dresses and with a garland of wild flowers in their hair, chanting incantations to whom it may concern…. I was wrapped up to the gunnels in my thick winter cardigan, watching two snails race on

Brian is back!

While Europe and even the South of England has been in the firm hot grips of a heatwave, life in my part of Scotland continues in long sleeves and a cardigan. Add to this thick cosy slipper socks to defrost my toes in the morning, a hot cup of tea, to perform the same magic

My dream and I are having a conversation

Here’s my dream: at some point in my life, I want to live by the sea. I picture myself, looking out from my writing room window, cup of hot, milky tea in my hands, surveying my universe… Ahhhh. The greys, the blues, magnificent white crests weaving in and out of blackest shingle – I think