James Gilbert

a grey dove’s call
leaves susurrate & fall
oh for the stillness
precious though small

Ah, thank you for saying so!

Thank you, Shakira. And yes, their diversity and attractive colouration/patterning is somehow easy to forget!

Inexcusable really; public transport in the UK should be *so* much better in 2025.

Just heart-warming & uplifting to hear any story like this, amid the common gloom. People are changing & clubs are changing in a positive manner. It’s also apparent that him being his true self, by speaking up about vital issues that many/most don’t see or understand, makes him feel happier.

'With power comes responsibility' - Hector Bellerin wins BBC Green Sports Award Former Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin talks about his attempts to live a more sustainable life as he wins the BBC Green Sports Award.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Very rarely do I share news &/or sport content (please forgive me on this occasion!). I feel this is a positive article worthy of wide attention. What an example this seemingly lovely guy is setting.

Thank you!

silver light
through the window
an owl’s call

Yes!

from thinning trees
goldfinches billow & drift
like musical leaves

You remember right, Alex! Alas it wasn’t Oakhill (it looks worthwhile!) rather some degraded farmland ponds close to Goole!

Thank you, that’s very kind.

Variegated grey clouds drift above the flowerless mead, & the air kisses colder than of late. Each step through dew-weighted grass causes craneflies to take flight & scatter low. From a backwater willow, a light burst of chiffchaff song evokes spring, while autumn romances the heart.

Hearing the liquid chatter of goldfinches, flitting happily about the topmost branches of a streetside lime. A comforting ambient sound & suggestive of sweet innocence, rather like that of children playing outside at school breaktime.

seedhead bronze
seen in the marsh harrier
ghosting now gone

a desolate fen
the linnets’ drift-chatter makes
not so desolate

Lost in the colours, light and movement at a chalk stream turn.

Oh congratulations, Shakira!

Thank you so much.

Thanks very much for this. I struggle sometimes with all that I feel is wrong, and often use my writing as self-help, I guess! I seek and keep the positive going via the non-human world around me, and I’m glad my posts offer you some good.

I’m sorry to learn that. Yes, I suspect “greying gardens” etc. is a big factor.

What I like to call a “drape” of craneflies, here at rest on a brick wall.

Odd it must be to some, but cranefly emergence is an event I am very fond of. These delicate, gangling things strongly evoke the autumns of my outdoors-pottering youth. Now that change can be wearisome and worry comes easier, the eternal promise of their appearance is ever more comforting.

Herb Robert? It’s Jack-by-the-hedge I’m more worried about.

Always a subtle true touch of early autumn — the low-down sheet webs woven by money spiders. I like the way the morning dew quite suddenly reveals them — their intricate beauty — at this time of year, heralding season-defining rich & romantic change.

Belated happy birthday, Jenevieve!

Saw just now a dear kestrel, hovering. Seen such before perhaps a thousand times. And yet, each time, still a spark of joy and wonder flares within. Lost on me these feelings will never be!

You know, that's so true!

A dozen red kites on the wing, circling above the market place like ceiling-tethered toy planes.

Interesting. Thanks.

I do have Aigle wellies, however, I’ve had them years, walking miles in them every week. Comfortable, durable. No complaints. Worth the outlay in my opinion, because they last (in my experience).