Jen Ratcliffe
@jenratcliffe.bsky.social
✏️Writer
Boating birder and travelling poet, loves a good brew ☕ Host of #DailyNature
🌿Nature 🚂Travel
🛶Canals 🌊Nomad
WC Nature Writing Shortlist 24
Porthleven Finalist 23
IntrepidTimes WaterwaysWorld Telegraph
#NatureWriting
#UKCanals
#NaturePoetry
Boating birder and travelling poet, loves a good brew ☕ Host of #DailyNature
🌿Nature 🚂Travel
🛶Canals 🌊Nomad
WC Nature Writing Shortlist 24
Porthleven Finalist 23
IntrepidTimes WaterwaysWorld Telegraph
#NatureWriting
#UKCanals
#NaturePoetry
Pinned
New 🌊📘Water Book Club & Sub Chat!
A space for us to discuss the aquatically inspired books we love a little further
open.substack.com
Feeling concerned about the state of our water? Disconnected from nature?
Like reading & want to connect?
I cordially invite you to the
💙🌊 Water Book Club
A Substack blog & podcast series with interactive discussion
#Water #UKCanals #NatureWriting #BookSky
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
Like reading & want to connect?
I cordially invite you to the
💙🌊 Water Book Club
A Substack blog & podcast series with interactive discussion
#Water #UKCanals #NatureWriting #BookSky
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
In night's deep, when even wind had blown out scared to howl, a long tentacle protruded out of water, knocking like a rent man. I was ready, reaching to grip my weapon - jerking ammunition through the window. Sighing 'you funny creep' to the waggling rump of swan.
#NatureWriting #UKCanals #Birding
#NatureWriting #UKCanals #Birding
November 13, 2025 at 12:25 PM
In night's deep, when even wind had blown out scared to howl, a long tentacle protruded out of water, knocking like a rent man. I was ready, reaching to grip my weapon - jerking ammunition through the window. Sighing 'you funny creep' to the waggling rump of swan.
#NatureWriting #UKCanals #Birding
#NatureWriting #UKCanals #Birding
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
What we do to feel alive 📸 #photography
November 12, 2025 at 9:41 PM
What we do to feel alive 📸 #photography
Rain
Two curved dollops of cream wrestle with reeds, kohl lined eyes lost in feast
slick cormorant bow dive: elegant as a fish,
bobble footed blackcurrants with cherry hats walk on water
goldcrest flick, green as the wind
One ghost splash, nothing but fin-tailed sounds
#NatureWriting #UKCanals
Two curved dollops of cream wrestle with reeds, kohl lined eyes lost in feast
slick cormorant bow dive: elegant as a fish,
bobble footed blackcurrants with cherry hats walk on water
goldcrest flick, green as the wind
One ghost splash, nothing but fin-tailed sounds
#NatureWriting #UKCanals
November 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Rain
Two curved dollops of cream wrestle with reeds, kohl lined eyes lost in feast
slick cormorant bow dive: elegant as a fish,
bobble footed blackcurrants with cherry hats walk on water
goldcrest flick, green as the wind
One ghost splash, nothing but fin-tailed sounds
#NatureWriting #UKCanals
Two curved dollops of cream wrestle with reeds, kohl lined eyes lost in feast
slick cormorant bow dive: elegant as a fish,
bobble footed blackcurrants with cherry hats walk on water
goldcrest flick, green as the wind
One ghost splash, nothing but fin-tailed sounds
#NatureWriting #UKCanals
Today we remember all those who served in conflict. Often forgotten are those that continued to support the war effort from home waters. The men and women who kept vital supplies flowing through the network worked long hours in challenging conditions. #inlandwaterways #remembranceday
November 11, 2025 at 12:15 PM
'It seemed one of those days when nothing much would happen, the sort that might put a hole in your mood. And yet, as the afternoon wore on, the blanket thinned and colour returned, like someone unexpectedly turning up a dimmer switch.'
Lovely morning read from @calmandfearless.bsky.social
Lovely morning read from @calmandfearless.bsky.social
November 11, 2025 at 9:55 AM
'It seemed one of those days when nothing much would happen, the sort that might put a hole in your mood. And yet, as the afternoon wore on, the blanket thinned and colour returned, like someone unexpectedly turning up a dimmer switch.'
Lovely morning read from @calmandfearless.bsky.social
Lovely morning read from @calmandfearless.bsky.social
I wait too long under vanilla smoked clouds, then turn. For two seconds the sound of tinsel, then mass dropping of pins before rain can finally be seen on the water. Straight and speedy. Making a silver plait as run off twists into stagnant canal. The world is gloriously drenched.
#NatureWriting
#NatureWriting
November 11, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I wait too long under vanilla smoked clouds, then turn. For two seconds the sound of tinsel, then mass dropping of pins before rain can finally be seen on the water. Straight and speedy. Making a silver plait as run off twists into stagnant canal. The world is gloriously drenched.
#NatureWriting
#NatureWriting
Hedge Vetch
This year is the first year I noticed that there seems to be a purple season. Everything goes purple before it goes gold, rolling over the ground between summer and autumn like living twilight.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
This year is the first year I noticed that there seems to be a purple season. Everything goes purple before it goes gold, rolling over the ground between summer and autumn like living twilight.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
November 9, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Hedge Vetch
This year is the first year I noticed that there seems to be a purple season. Everything goes purple before it goes gold, rolling over the ground between summer and autumn like living twilight.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
This year is the first year I noticed that there seems to be a purple season. Everything goes purple before it goes gold, rolling over the ground between summer and autumn like living twilight.
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social #wildflowerhour
"In the darkness one may touch fires from the earth itself. Sparks fly round one's feet as the nails strike rock, and sometimes, if one disturbs black ooze in passing, there leap in it minute pricks of phosphorescent light."
Nan Shepherd - the living mountain on walking in the dark
#NatureWriting
Nan Shepherd - the living mountain on walking in the dark
#NatureWriting
November 9, 2025 at 7:24 PM
"In the darkness one may touch fires from the earth itself. Sparks fly round one's feet as the nails strike rock, and sometimes, if one disturbs black ooze in passing, there leap in it minute pricks of phosphorescent light."
Nan Shepherd - the living mountain on walking in the dark
#NatureWriting
Nan Shepherd - the living mountain on walking in the dark
#NatureWriting
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
🎵Everybody's working for the Winter...🎶
November 9, 2025 at 3:07 PM
🎵Everybody's working for the Winter...🎶
This Sunday I'm advocating rest, especially as part of the creative process - and as my own experience from the summer
Audio enabled so you can truly rest this morning 🔊
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Writing #Rest #Substack #Blog #Autumn #ChronicIllness #Culture
Audio enabled so you can truly rest this morning 🔊
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Writing #Rest #Substack #Blog #Autumn #ChronicIllness #Culture
Stop in order to Go
On Writing: An advocacy for rest in the creative process. Reflecting on a year of two autumns, restorative friendships, one sprained ankle and a really big pause...
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:35 PM
This Sunday I'm advocating rest, especially as part of the creative process - and as my own experience from the summer
Audio enabled so you can truly rest this morning 🔊
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Writing #Rest #Substack #Blog #Autumn #ChronicIllness #Culture
Audio enabled so you can truly rest this morning 🔊
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Writing #Rest #Substack #Blog #Autumn #ChronicIllness #Culture
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced."
~ Søren Kierkegaard
November Afternoon (1881)
🎨 Alfred Sisley
~ Søren Kierkegaard
November Afternoon (1881)
🎨 Alfred Sisley
November 9, 2025 at 12:22 PM
"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced."
~ Søren Kierkegaard
November Afternoon (1881)
🎨 Alfred Sisley
~ Søren Kierkegaard
November Afternoon (1881)
🎨 Alfred Sisley
Photos from Sophie this week have been out of this world 😍⛰️
Another view from the magnificent Stokksnes, with the peaks of Vestrahorn and Brunnhorn visible.
#Iceland
#Iceland
November 8, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Photos from Sophie this week have been out of this world 😍⛰️
The blue opioid smoke of a blackthorn bush sticking it's arm out for a passing ride
Two cormorants bent on a barren oak, their narrow mouths extensions of scorched branch
Curved creases of azure irises greeting you awake as the sun to their sky
There are holier things than gods
#NatureWriting
Two cormorants bent on a barren oak, their narrow mouths extensions of scorched branch
Curved creases of azure irises greeting you awake as the sun to their sky
There are holier things than gods
#NatureWriting
Today's #poetryprompt:
"There are ______er things than _____"
For example:
There are sharper things than knives
There are heavier things than lead
#MPPrompt
I repost replies. Follow for daily prompts
"There are ______er things than _____"
For example:
There are sharper things than knives
There are heavier things than lead
#MPPrompt
I repost replies. Follow for daily prompts
November 8, 2025 at 1:12 AM
The blue opioid smoke of a blackthorn bush sticking it's arm out for a passing ride
Two cormorants bent on a barren oak, their narrow mouths extensions of scorched branch
Curved creases of azure irises greeting you awake as the sun to their sky
There are holier things than gods
#NatureWriting
Two cormorants bent on a barren oak, their narrow mouths extensions of scorched branch
Curved creases of azure irises greeting you awake as the sun to their sky
There are holier things than gods
#NatureWriting
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
I am water
liquid aquamarine
waves ebb n flow
flooded sometimes
by upheaval
from the depths
fluid in thoughts
and motion
I take the path of least resistance
at rest
I take the shape
of my container
#poetry
liquid aquamarine
waves ebb n flow
flooded sometimes
by upheaval
from the depths
fluid in thoughts
and motion
I take the path of least resistance
at rest
I take the shape
of my container
#poetry
October 7, 2025 at 4:48 PM
I am water
liquid aquamarine
waves ebb n flow
flooded sometimes
by upheaval
from the depths
fluid in thoughts
and motion
I take the path of least resistance
at rest
I take the shape
of my container
#poetry
liquid aquamarine
waves ebb n flow
flooded sometimes
by upheaval
from the depths
fluid in thoughts
and motion
I take the path of least resistance
at rest
I take the shape
of my container
#poetry
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
The shocking, violent reality of what bottom trawling does to the seabed and its creatures is filmed and shown for the first time in Ocean with David Attenborough. And then, after all that, three quarters of the catch is thrown away.
This is must-watch footage.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzG9...
This is must-watch footage.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzG9...
OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH | BOTTOM TRAWLING OFFICIAL CLIP | IN CINEMAS NOW | Altitude Films
YouTube video by Altitude Films
www.youtube.com
May 12, 2025 at 10:34 AM
The shocking, violent reality of what bottom trawling does to the seabed and its creatures is filmed and shown for the first time in Ocean with David Attenborough. And then, after all that, three quarters of the catch is thrown away.
This is must-watch footage.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzG9...
This is must-watch footage.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzG9...
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
In today's @theguardian.com country diary, I'm hunting for the county's first ever recorded wild plant along the same the road where it was spotted by the father of British botany, William Turner, in 1548.
#naturewriting #countrydiary
#naturewriting #countrydiary
Country diary: Red-hot spindle sets the hedgerow ablaze | Nic Wilson
Braughing, Hertfordshire: This fiery plant is one of the most startling sights of autumn – and it has a place in history in this county
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:27 AM
In today's @theguardian.com country diary, I'm hunting for the county's first ever recorded wild plant along the same the road where it was spotted by the father of British botany, William Turner, in 1548.
#naturewriting #countrydiary
#naturewriting #countrydiary
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
There's something quite magical about watching a Marsh Harrier quartering the reed beds. Their flight is almost "Owl like" and that bright staring eye will miss nothing. Taken at Ham Wall on the Avalon Marshes, 04/11/25. What a fantastic bird! 🪶 #ukbirding #wildlife #ukwildlife #photography #nikon
November 7, 2025 at 6:35 PM
There's something quite magical about watching a Marsh Harrier quartering the reed beds. Their flight is almost "Owl like" and that bright staring eye will miss nothing. Taken at Ham Wall on the Avalon Marshes, 04/11/25. What a fantastic bird! 🪶 #ukbirding #wildlife #ukwildlife #photography #nikon
This is my 1000th post on BlueSky 💙
Nature is graffiti to the soul, to the silence,
to those who would take her and bend her into misuse,
she is scrappy and scrawl,
without erasure,
every element contains her, words written in senses, in existence
and endless style.
#NatureWriting #DailyNature
Nature is graffiti to the soul, to the silence,
to those who would take her and bend her into misuse,
she is scrappy and scrawl,
without erasure,
every element contains her, words written in senses, in existence
and endless style.
#NatureWriting #DailyNature
November 7, 2025 at 4:33 PM
This is my 1000th post on BlueSky 💙
Nature is graffiti to the soul, to the silence,
to those who would take her and bend her into misuse,
she is scrappy and scrawl,
without erasure,
every element contains her, words written in senses, in existence
and endless style.
#NatureWriting #DailyNature
Nature is graffiti to the soul, to the silence,
to those who would take her and bend her into misuse,
she is scrappy and scrawl,
without erasure,
every element contains her, words written in senses, in existence
and endless style.
#NatureWriting #DailyNature
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Some thought provoking advice from Charles Baudelaire "Be Drunk” (Enivrez-vous)
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
November 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Some thought provoking advice from Charles Baudelaire "Be Drunk” (Enivrez-vous)
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Me one second after saying that was my last chocolate...
Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #lunchtime, featuring a Cedar Waxwing in pure berry bliss.
#birds #nature #wildlife #photography
#birds #nature #wildlife #photography
November 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Me one second after saying that was my last chocolate...
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
succubus - female demon that seduces men
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
November 6, 2025 at 3:38 PM
succubus - female demon that seduces men
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
incubus - male demon that seduces women
vengabus - non-binary demon that likes to party
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
UK opts out of Brazil's Tropical Forests Forever Fund.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
UK opts out of flagship fund to protect Amazon and other threatened tropical forests
Decision is bitter blow to Brazil ahead of fund’s launch at Cop30 – and an embarrassment to Prince William
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 1:33 PM
UK opts out of Brazil's Tropical Forests Forever Fund.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
👆Fine work from among others:
@alicestainer.bsky.social @jenratcliffe.bsky.social @elizafevwrites.bsky.social @lauratheis.bsky.social @pdevonald.bsky.social @eleanorholmes.bsky.social @sarahraybould.bsky.social
@walklistencreate.org’s comp supports a great cause, Women walking, the City, at Night
@alicestainer.bsky.social @jenratcliffe.bsky.social @elizafevwrites.bsky.social @lauratheis.bsky.social @pdevonald.bsky.social @eleanorholmes.bsky.social @sarahraybould.bsky.social
@walklistencreate.org’s comp supports a great cause, Women walking, the City, at Night
November 6, 2025 at 12:29 PM
👆Fine work from among others:
@alicestainer.bsky.social @jenratcliffe.bsky.social @elizafevwrites.bsky.social @lauratheis.bsky.social @pdevonald.bsky.social @eleanorholmes.bsky.social @sarahraybould.bsky.social
@walklistencreate.org’s comp supports a great cause, Women walking, the City, at Night
@alicestainer.bsky.social @jenratcliffe.bsky.social @elizafevwrites.bsky.social @lauratheis.bsky.social @pdevonald.bsky.social @eleanorholmes.bsky.social @sarahraybould.bsky.social
@walklistencreate.org’s comp supports a great cause, Women walking, the City, at Night
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
This is wonderful (please read the alt texts - it's beautiful).
Imagine it. No toys forged in distant factories, no screens glowing with borrowed dreams. Just 52 rectangles of faded cardboard, edges curled from a thousand shuffles by hands before his. In a life stripped to essentials, imagination is the ultimate wealth.
November 5, 2025 at 4:47 PM
This is wonderful (please read the alt texts - it's beautiful).
🎉💚🥹 Delighted to be longlisted this morning
Thankyou to the judges @marcellenewbold.bsky.social , Damaris West, @chantallyons.bsky.social & Matthew Beaumont
Congrats to all long listers 🌚 I've just had a lovely morning reading through the pieces ☕📜
@rachelape.bsky.social
🧵1/3
#NatureWriting
Thankyou to the judges @marcellenewbold.bsky.social , Damaris West, @chantallyons.bsky.social & Matthew Beaumont
Congrats to all long listers 🌚 I've just had a lovely morning reading through the pieces ☕📜
@rachelape.bsky.social
🧵1/3
#NatureWriting
November 6, 2025 at 8:48 AM
🎉💚🥹 Delighted to be longlisted this morning
Thankyou to the judges @marcellenewbold.bsky.social , Damaris West, @chantallyons.bsky.social & Matthew Beaumont
Congrats to all long listers 🌚 I've just had a lovely morning reading through the pieces ☕📜
@rachelape.bsky.social
🧵1/3
#NatureWriting
Thankyou to the judges @marcellenewbold.bsky.social , Damaris West, @chantallyons.bsky.social & Matthew Beaumont
Congrats to all long listers 🌚 I've just had a lovely morning reading through the pieces ☕📜
@rachelape.bsky.social
🧵1/3
#NatureWriting