An occasional journal
wildlife
White on White
Apr 30th 2019
A small white butterfly on a wild garlic flower.
Admin2 is reading Spaceman of Bohemia by Jaroslav Kalfar; adventures of a bouncing Czech.
Blue on Blue
Apr 29th 2019
Spot the butterfly on the bluebell.
We scored 8 on the GWQ with remote help from Dave.
I’ll Bee with You in Apple Blossom Time
Apr 23rd 2019
Admin1 is reading Dark Fire by CJ Sansom. Admin2 is reading The Other Wife by Michael Robotham. We rewatched Line of Duty series 4.
Pink Flowers Blue Tit
Apr 18th 2019
Admin1 is reading The Other Wife by Michael Robotham, which was … highly implausible, and rather disappointing. Admin2 is reading Galloglass by Scarlet Thomas, which was pretty boring for a kids’ book. We rewatched Line of Duty series 2.
Two for Joy
Mar 29th 2019
Magpie sweetiepies.
Today was our sunniest March day ever: 8.39kWh.
Admin1 is reading Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves.
Critter of the Day: Starling
Mar 20th 2019
An iridescent bird for the vernal equinox on the day of the Super Worm Moon. It was also the warmest day of the year so far at 22.4 °C and our warmest March day for seven years.
Admin1 is reading Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham. Admin2 is reading Female of the Species by Lionel Shriver; anthropologists in love.
Critter of the Day: Robin
Mar 16th 2019
We had more rain today than we had in the whole of February.
Admin1 is reading Bombproof by Michael Robotham. Admin2 is reading Real World by Natsuo Kirino.
Froggy Froggy Duo
Feb 26th 2019
Today was extra super warm for the time of year: 21.7 °C, a record in the country and in our garden which is filled with birdsong, the scent of flowers and the croaks of amorous amphibians (oh and a hell of a lot of banging and drilling from the renderers working next door).
Today is also booktally day. In the last 6 years we have read 1536 books between us, 256 since last year, which by a strange coincidence is also our exact average number.
Critter of the day: Blackbird
Feb 10th 2019
Admin1 is reading Well of the Winds by Denzil Meyrick. Admin2 is reading Red Moon by Kim Stanley Robinson: a quatum telephone salesman, a pregnant Chinese princessling and a feng shui expert become entangled on the Moon; a terrific book but it ends on a cliffhanger.
We scored 8 on the GWQ.
Critter of the Day: Tit
Feb 4th 2019
Looking a bit blue.
Admin1 is reading A Secret Worth Killing For by Simon Berthon; a book not worth wasting time on. Admin2 is reading Shattered Minds by Laura Lam but abandoned it halfway through because it was boring.
Critter of the Day: Tit
Jan 15th 2019
Admin1 has been reading This Is What Happened by Mick Herron (thx Admin2) and Admin2 is reading Journey under the Midnight Sun by Keigo Higashino (thx Admin1)
Critter of the Day: Dunnock
Jan 5th 2019
Admin1 is reading The Water Room by Christopher Fowler. Admin2 is reading Real Tigers by Mick Herron.
Critter of the Day: Starling
Dec 30th 2018
Another flying thing.
Admin1 is reading The Woman in Blue by Elly Griffiths (thx Admin2). Admin2 is reading Tombland by CJ Sansom (thx Admin1), which is more like a tombstone (800pp) and covers ruthless suppression of early socialism in the aftermath of the enclosures.
We scored 8 on the last GWQ of the year.
Critters of the Day: Green Shield Bugs
Sep 4th 2018
An adult hanging out with a teenager.
Admin1′s 700th book is The Hit by Nadia Dalbueno
Admin2 is reading The Outsider by Stephen King which contained a lot of product placement for the iPad.
Critter of the Day: Small Tortoiseshell
Sep 2nd 2018
One of many colourful visitors in recent warm days (30.4 °C today).
Admin1 is reading The American by Nadia Dalbueno.
We scored 7 on the GWQ, but would probably have done better if it wasn’t for those pesky kids.
Another Fly Undone
Sep 1st 2018
Victim of the sundew.
August was our warmest (average high 24.9 °C) and driest (28.8 mm) August ever recorded but the second-worst August for the solar panels (182.583kWh).
We are watching Hidden.
Fly Undone
Aug 30th 2018
A victim of the Venus flytrap.
Admin1 is reading The Few by Nadia Dalbueno, in which a detective struggling to overcome his family’s Mafia past investigates corruption and sordid goings-on in the highest levels of Italian society; pretty good, but not a book likely to be recommended by the Italian tourist board.
Admin2 is reading The Discourtesy of Death by William Broderick.
Coffee of the day: Hill and Valley.
Critter of the Day: Earthworm
Aug 26th 2018
Lumbricus terrestris crossing the road in the rain. We have had more rain today than in the whole of June, and unfortunately it coincided with the Reggae Concert.
Admin1 is reading The Discourtesy of Death by William Brodrick (intriguing and well-written; excellent).
Coffee of the day: Nicaragua El Amparo Caturra; sweet and chocolatey.
Critter of the Day: Celastrina argiolus
Aug 3rd 2018
Same flower, different flyer: the Holly Blue.
Admin1 is reading Salt Lane by William Shaw.
Critter of the Day: Pyrausta purpuralis
Aug 2nd 2018
There are hundreds of these tiny moths all over our herbs.
Admin2 tried reading The Causal Angel by Hannu Rajaniemi (too Strossful), The Stalker by Lars Kepler (not another bloody woman butchered in chapter 1) and is now trying Broken Heart by Tim Weaver.