Echium pininana is a stunning sight when it is in full flower. Endemic to the Canary Islands, it makes a stout rosette of coarse, hairy leaves, before sending up a flower spike the following year. The first picture was taken at Woolwich Dockyard early in May, while I took the second one in Plumstead at the end of July. There are still a few flowers attracting bees, and if you … [Read more...]

Cherries are one of my favourite fruits. Luckily for me, there is a stand of wild cherries not too far from where I live. When the weather is right, they provide an abundant crop of small sour-sweet cherries. Two years ago, when it was spectacularly dry, the promising yield all dropped to the ground long before the fruit reached maturity. Last year, I collected a reasonable … [Read more...]

  Last week in our Plumstead garden site, one of the residents made a guest appearance, to wit a female stag beetle which must have popped out from the raised beds for a short perambulation before tucking itself away in a safe nook between the sleepers. Even without the splendid 'antlers' of the male, which are its jaws, a female stag beetle is still an impressive … [Read more...]

Even before the recent rain finally arrived, there were still several randomly self-seeded plants. Tucked away in apparently inhospitable situations valiantly flowering in the dry conditions, doing their bit for bio-diversity and cheering up anyone who likes and notices that sort of thing. I expect a few insects were grateful as well. With an increase in moisture, we might … [Read more...]

Walking with Dinosaurs was produced by the BBC in 1999. It was narrated by Kenneth Branagh, featuring state of the art CGI and original music. Naysayers criticised it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The warm, woody narration and the emotionally loaded musical accompaniment (for instance, the creatures that would evolve into mammals had a sympathetic soundtrack whereas the … [Read more...]