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Don’t Look Back Whether there was a fig tree in the garden, I just can’t remember. I do recall, though, the grapevine roofing over our summer afternoon patio with grandma and my friends. “Had I stayed,” I told my sister via Skype, “I now could have been self-isolating with you, mum, and dad in grandma’s…

S is for Solitude The mantra is that your daily lockdown walk is good for your mental health, so am I alone in thinking that walking in solitude in the countryside increases one’s sense of isolation? I have read a considerable amount of new nature and mindfulness-inspired writing. Now the covid crisis has prompted newspapers…

Brimming over with bees I’m going to be honest with you. Covid-19 and lockdown have left me feeling decidedly befuddled. Confined to my home and garden would normally be my idea of heaven, but positive feelings are tempered with the frustration of finding online delivery slots at Sainsbury’s, incessantly cleaning door knobs, and trying to…

Wildlife from my Window I bought it from the pound shop. I really didn’t think it would work, but for a quid, I was willing to try. I stuck the small, clear-plastic bird feeder on the window on New Year’s Day and waited. The seed clumped together, it had to be emptied, washed and refilled…

Since the start of lockdown. I have been to my local wood every day. However, just as the anemones and bluebells are making their yearly appearance, I feel that dreaded tickle at the back of my throat. It is not a sinister cough – phlegmy and fruity-sounding, without any other symptoms. But the advice online…