Bumblebee on flower (photo from Wikimedia) 3 September 2026 Bumblebees are in trouble in North America. Since the beginning of this century the American bumblebee (Bombus pensylvanicus) has declined 90%, the western bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis) has declined 93%, and the rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) is now listed as Critically Endangered. Their absence has important implications for our food supply. Flowers in the Solanaceae family (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, potatoes and…

Daybreak comes in a lull between storms. An orange leaf spirals down at the woods’ edge as thunder rumbles off to the east, and now again in the west. A green stink bug crawls under the arm of my green chair.

Duncan Rawlinson photographed this reflection on a vehicle’s polished hood in the 1000 Islands region of Ontario, Canada. The curved surface mirrors a stormy sky at dusk, with bands of warm peach and cool teal stretching across the frame. Bare tree branches reach into the reflected scene, their dark silhouettes contrasting with the lit clouds. Dry grasses and shoreline vegetation appear at the top edge, anchoring the composition in the natural setting. The image transforms an everyday surface…

During the start of an evening at the beginning of our holiday in Italy last June (Italy really is a gift that keeps giving), the moon and Venus were just two degrees apart from each other in a cloudless sky. So what was I to do, with my astrophotography setup safely and uselessly at home and just my Fujifilm X20 in my hands? Venus (centred) with the moon (F2.8, 1/40 sec., 28.4mm focal lenght) July 17th, 2026 at 21:09:10 Well, reflecting, perhaps use that little wall right at the edge of the…

A wee bit late with this one. It’s a kooky mix of snoozing ducks, weird shots of random objects and pigeons. Great Blue Heron near the fish ladder, for obvious reasons.A seagull flying over a gray sky.A rare shot of a dragonfly in flight.A ruffled Ring-billed Gull looking back.A cricket. Or grasshopper?A Long-billed Dowitcher foraging in the shallows.Size comparison between Mallard and Long-billed Dowitcher.Yellow flower.No Fishing.Close-up of lily pads, converted to black and white.I'm pretty…

I know, it’s hard to think about fall native plants swaps and sales when temperatures have been in the 90 degrees Fahrenheit this week in southeast Michigan. Thankfully, our area will return to more “regular” fall temperatures this weekend. Which makes me glad. I love fall’s cooler weather! Plant Swaps and Sales If you’re not familiar, plant swaps happen in communities all over the world. Where people share plants and divisions they no longer want in their gardens. Plant swaps are free. For the…

Tickets are available for my tour of Whitechapel this Sunday and for Spitalfields on Saturday 12th September. Click here to book for The Gentle Author’s Tours . They say it is the oldest road in Britain, maybe the oldest in Europe. Starting from the highest navigable point of the Thames in prehistoric times, the Ridgeway follows the hilltops to arrive at Salisbury Plain where once wild cattle and horses roamed. When the valleys were forested and impenetrable, the Ridgeway offered a natural…

Another day of some Dragonfly photography. I'm not sure if it's normal to see so many in the UK or I've just been in the right place at the right time this year. Today's captures were from Rendelsham Forest in Suffolk. Yes, the forest where the famous Rendelsham incident of 1980 occurred. The light was a bit more diffuse under the forest canopy, so I'm a bit happier with how these turned out when compared with yesterday's captures. A bonus European Garden Spider I spotted Images taken with my…

Desert Brat 2026-09-02 bad week continues

Sedums are stalwarts of herbaceous borders in late summer/early autumn.

Now reading: Made to Tremble.

Geeky goodness from the Fossil Huntress. If you love paleontology, you will love this stream. Dinosaurs, trilobites, ammonites—you'll find them all here!Close your eyes & fly with me as we head out together to explore Earth's rich history written in her rock. Travel to extraordinary places, sacred sites & unearth mysteries millions of years old on the Fossil Huntress Podcast.This stream

A brutally hot and humid Southern California August and a record-breaking wildfire season across interior PacNW & beyond August ended up being an exceptionally hot month across nearly the entire Southwestern U.S., including across nearly all of SoCal (even coastal areas). In fact, August was (yet again) a record warm month in many locations; in […] The post Early-season trough will bring cooler weather and beneficial early-season rain to wildfire-stricken PacNW, and may also bring soon-to-be…

I fight my way through fallen trees, and follow a diversion to walk through Culloden Forest. Continue reading →

The wind and waves of the Gulf of St Lawrence conspire to build dramatic sand dunes along the north coast of Prince Edward Island. The beach on the other side of the dunes is beautiful and doesn’t have the crowds of tourists like the beaches further west. It wasn’t a sunny day when I hiked out there but it was dramatic nonetheless. Photograph tags: BelieveInFilm, FilmPhotography, Mamiya6, pei, colour, beach

We’ve whizzed past the big Liberty Sculpture Park sign on I-15 on several trips between Las Vegas and Los Angeles and always meant to stop and check it out, but never did… until our last trip from LA, that is, when we made a concerted effort to exit at Yermo (the iconic Peggy Sue’s Diner exit) and see what the park was all about. We’ve whizzed past this sign on I-15 but never stopped at the Liberty Sculpture Park The park is a 36‑acre nonprofit, non-governmental open-air sculpture park located…

Scientists recently analyzed the oldest known piece of ground sloth shit. It is 43,000 years old and was found at the Cueva Cacao site in the mountains of Argentina. Scientists believe the coprolite came from a species of ground sloth belonging to the Mylodontidae Family. There were 4 species of Mylodontid sloths living in Argentina during the late Pleistocene including Darwin’s ground sloth (Mylodon darwinii), Neomylodon listae, lestodon (Lestodon armatus), and glossotherium (Glossotherium…

Catalapa sphinx moth caterpillar, finding a place to pupate underground, 9 August 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 2 September 2026 For insect novices like me, August is the easiest time of year to find any life phase of the catalpa sphinx moth (Ceratomia catalpae). In August the caterpillars are large and their bodies signal that it’s time to stop eating and start pupating. They drop from the trees and burrow underground to overwinter and pupate. That’s where I found the caterpillar pictured at…

Everything drips from rain in the wee hours. I notice that the white lilac at the woods’ edge is blooming again, and more vigorously then it did in the spring, before months of assault from whatever disease has been decimating its leaves. There’s an almost ghostly presence to these new white inflorescences, appearing alongside a flush of fresh green.

📷 218/365 - Iconic bird. Reply by email

Duncan Rawlinson photographed this winter scene in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario, Canada. A tall pine anchors the right foreground, its weathered trunk and rust-colored needles framing the view across calm water. Two small islands sit in the middle distance, each crowned with evergreens and a single red boathouse that contrasts with the snow-dusted ground. The water reflects the muted gray sky and the dark forms of the islands, creating a mirror-like surface broken only by faint…

It's raining. Proper rain! I know I'll soon be complaing about endless floods - but the rivers are desperate for it right now. And while I'm waiting for the water to find it's way into the rivers - a few more carp between the storms to wrap up the summer season. Lovely. Double #26 (above) at 10lb 12oz Meanwhile James has been continuing his barbel 40 River Double Challenge - double number 33 on the scorecard - could it be a new river record? Blog post is here.

Desert Brat 2026-09-01

I nearly called this report the last great day of Summer. It hasn't been a brilliant few months although it started quite well, then tailed off into the usual neither-terrible-nor-spectacular event that is the Scottish Summer. An odd day here and there to remind us that there is some global warming going on. However as other countries baked and burned, it just about raised Scottish temperatures to pleasant. This was one of those pleasant days out. 24-08-26 - a happy Monday. And the title…

Blueweed The Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) produces a lot of rich nectar, a blue pollen, and attracts pollinators. It looks great, but, should be avoided.Echium vulgare The prickly hairs can be skin irritants. The plant contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids; these can cause liver damage to livestock and humans. The alkaloid is also in the honey. The honey should not eaten regularly or for long terms.

In a wide valley stood a great dam built by a colony of beavers. Day after day, they repaired leaks, strengthened walls, cleared debris, and extended canals so that water reached every corner of the forest. The work was never glamorous. When storms came, the beavers worked through the night. When br…

Another attempt at capturing some Dragonflies. The Robin also came back for another portrait Images taken with my OM1 II, Olympus 40-150 2.8 +MC-14.

A closed-down fireworks stand with a statue of an American Bison atop it, spotted near Kemp, Oklahoma. The post White Bison appeared first on 75CentralPhotography.

18 MilesI had no idea that Wenlock Edge went on for so far. I always assumed it was hill near Much Wenlock but having spent a week in the area, I can now confirm it is a 18 mile ridge, running straight and thin all the way to Craven Arms.Today, we have a short but beautiful walk from Rushbury. There is little to report. Rushbury has no pub. The church is austere.But the walking is fantastic - a gentle climb out of Apedale along the flanks of agricultural fields. A long section on the Jack…