Jen Ratcliffe
@jenratcliffe.bsky.social
✏️Writer
Boating birder, travelling poet, loves a good brew ☕ Host of #DailyNature
🌿Nature 🚂Travel
🛶Canals 🌊Nomad
In The Dark LL 25
WC Nature Writing SL 24
Porthleven SL 23
IntrepidTimes WaterwaysWorld Telegraph
#NatureWriting
#UKCanals
#NaturePoetry
Boating birder, travelling poet, loves a good brew ☕ Host of #DailyNature
🌿Nature 🚂Travel
🛶Canals 🌊Nomad
In The Dark LL 25
WC Nature Writing SL 24
Porthleven SL 23
IntrepidTimes WaterwaysWorld Telegraph
#NatureWriting
#UKCanals
#NaturePoetry
Pinned
12 Ways January Teaches Us Softness
Replacing harsh new year's resolutions with renewal, reflection, and calm for a softer start to the year in a dozen ways
open.substack.com
Something mindful, short and sweet for this #BlueMonday - blue is actually a beautiful colour from nature and this Monday is actually full of soft wonder...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
Happy Imbolc 💠 Snow has been with me this week, blurring cliffs, heavens and hands - now it pushes up and drops, greeting me in my dad's garden, whispering of spring, a wink in the grass
- I misspoke recently, the next #DailyNature challenge is indeed in March celebrating *Ostara*!
#Naturephoto
- I misspoke recently, the next #DailyNature challenge is indeed in March celebrating *Ostara*!
#Naturephoto
February 1, 2026 at 8:56 PM
Happy Imbolc 💠 Snow has been with me this week, blurring cliffs, heavens and hands - now it pushes up and drops, greeting me in my dad's garden, whispering of spring, a wink in the grass
- I misspoke recently, the next #DailyNature challenge is indeed in March celebrating *Ostara*!
#Naturephoto
- I misspoke recently, the next #DailyNature challenge is indeed in March celebrating *Ostara*!
#Naturephoto
I'm away this week so won't be posting on Substack until the weekend.
If you fancy reading bout polar nights in Norway at the edge of the world, here is The Witch of Ice
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Travel #Quietsky #Ocean
If you fancy reading bout polar nights in Norway at the edge of the world, here is The Witch of Ice
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Travel #Quietsky #Ocean
The Witch Of Ice
A travel piece written about my experience living in Finnmark, Norway, published in Spring 2025, for the The Marlowe Review
open.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:18 AM
I'm away this week so won't be posting on Substack until the weekend.
If you fancy reading bout polar nights in Norway at the edge of the world, here is The Witch of Ice
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Travel #Quietsky #Ocean
If you fancy reading bout polar nights in Norway at the edge of the world, here is The Witch of Ice
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#Travel #Quietsky #Ocean
Rolling hills wearing veils of gossamer rose up over horizons of the north yesterday, now we wait, watching the great sky goose molt over fells and lakes, anticipating feet treading white temporary ground, pooling under heat into puddles.
#NatureWriting
#NatureWriting
January 27, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Rolling hills wearing veils of gossamer rose up over horizons of the north yesterday, now we wait, watching the great sky goose molt over fells and lakes, anticipating feet treading white temporary ground, pooling under heat into puddles.
#NatureWriting
#NatureWriting
Between tan brambles a zebra flash, a squawk, a feather. Her mottled wings twist skillfully as talons jump and grab at a silver bulbous body. The prey tries to fly, she ushers it towards a corner. Petite head with one giant hieroglyph eye: focused. The merlin is having pigeon pie for tea!
#Nature
#Nature
January 24, 2026 at 5:13 PM
Between tan brambles a zebra flash, a squawk, a feather. Her mottled wings twist skillfully as talons jump and grab at a silver bulbous body. The prey tries to fly, she ushers it towards a corner. Petite head with one giant hieroglyph eye: focused. The merlin is having pigeon pie for tea!
#Nature
#Nature
I felt so bad for him - how did they play it so well? #TraitorsUK
January 23, 2026 at 9:51 PM
I felt so bad for him - how did they play it so well? #TraitorsUK
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Something mindful, short and sweet for this #BlueMonday - blue is actually a beautiful colour from nature and this Monday is actually full of soft wonder...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
12 Ways January Teaches Us Softness
Replacing harsh new year's resolutions with renewal, reflection, and calm for a softer start to the year in a dozen ways
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Something mindful, short and sweet for this #BlueMonday - blue is actually a beautiful colour from nature and this Monday is actually full of soft wonder...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
The wind interferes with starlings, scattering them loose, moving akin to flying ants in August heat. Behind them the bruise of winter is soothes from aubergine to grey. The field is alien, apple green, beneath thousands of crop stumps, I wonder if I'll miss these colours in spring.
#NatureWriting
#NatureWriting
January 23, 2026 at 4:21 PM
The wind interferes with starlings, scattering them loose, moving akin to flying ants in August heat. Behind them the bruise of winter is soothes from aubergine to grey. The field is alien, apple green, beneath thousands of crop stumps, I wonder if I'll miss these colours in spring.
#NatureWriting
#NatureWriting
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
An adult male Allen’s hummingbird bringing welcome flashes of color on this day of uniformly milky gray skies.
Hummingbird Buddy cam for the win catching the gorget shine! #birds SoCal
Hummingbird Buddy cam for the win catching the gorget shine! #birds SoCal
January 21, 2026 at 6:14 PM
An adult male Allen’s hummingbird bringing welcome flashes of color on this day of uniformly milky gray skies.
Hummingbird Buddy cam for the win catching the gorget shine! #birds SoCal
Hummingbird Buddy cam for the win catching the gorget shine! #birds SoCal
This week is a leaping frog, events over the next few weeks will spit me out into mid-March. My small January tasks remaining are eyeballing me with deep suspicion of unfinished futures. But winters rest still calls to me with its spun fog coat, surly gold dawns and lack of hunting herons.
#Nature
#Nature
January 21, 2026 at 9:42 PM
This week is a leaping frog, events over the next few weeks will spit me out into mid-March. My small January tasks remaining are eyeballing me with deep suspicion of unfinished futures. But winters rest still calls to me with its spun fog coat, surly gold dawns and lack of hunting herons.
#Nature
#Nature
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Clouds race low
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
January 20, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Clouds race low
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Eternal beauty, for what it is and what it was.
January 20, 2026 at 11:34 AM
Eternal beauty, for what it is and what it was.
Something mindful, short and sweet for this #BlueMonday - blue is actually a beautiful colour from nature and this Monday is actually full of soft wonder...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
12 Ways January Teaches Us Softness
Replacing harsh new year's resolutions with renewal, reflection, and calm for a softer start to the year in a dozen ways
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Something mindful, short and sweet for this #BlueMonday - blue is actually a beautiful colour from nature and this Monday is actually full of soft wonder...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#substack #naturewriting #January #Softness
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Credit where credit’s due to CRT & contractors Crouch Recovery & WM Plant Hire for the speed the three stricken boats have been recovered from ‘that’ hole. Less than 3 weeks. Special mention for Aimee who operated ‘The Spider’. Photos courtesy of Court above the Cut, Taylor’s Aboard, WM Plant Hire
January 18, 2026 at 11:26 AM
Credit where credit’s due to CRT & contractors Crouch Recovery & WM Plant Hire for the speed the three stricken boats have been recovered from ‘that’ hole. Less than 3 weeks. Special mention for Aimee who operated ‘The Spider’. Photos courtesy of Court above the Cut, Taylor’s Aboard, WM Plant Hire
January 16, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
This episode discusses the implications of the Whitchurch breach following a difficult year (2025) on the canal network for the future of life on the canal and the boating world.
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
Canal Life (Now and Future)
The failure of the Whitchurch embankment offered sobering viewing for those on and off the canal. This episode responds to listeners’ concerns and questions and the…
www.noswpod.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:16 PM
This episode discusses the implications of the Whitchurch breach following a difficult year (2025) on the canal network for the future of life on the canal and the boating world.
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
Witches, poison, sauna's and ice - I've uploaded a travel essay I published with Marlowe review in Spring on my substack today.
🔊voice-over added for pottering about
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#travel #norway #naturewriting #quietsky
🔊voice-over added for pottering about
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#travel #norway #naturewriting #quietsky
The Witch Of Ice
A travel piece written about my experience living in Finnmark, Norway, published in Spring 2025, for the The Marlowe Review
open.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Witches, poison, sauna's and ice - I've uploaded a travel essay I published with Marlowe review in Spring on my substack today.
🔊voice-over added for pottering about
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#travel #norway #naturewriting #quietsky
🔊voice-over added for pottering about
open.substack.com/pub/jenratcl...
#travel #norway #naturewriting #quietsky
'17' dangles from a branch, blue as playdough with accompanying faded rose lead. Keys juggled by a tree - lost token limbo, strung as lights at eye level. When I see shrubs wearing mittens or rocks donning beanie-hats, I consider the small kindness to attempt their return and smile.
#HumanNature
#HumanNature
January 13, 2026 at 3:55 PM
'17' dangles from a branch, blue as playdough with accompanying faded rose lead. Keys juggled by a tree - lost token limbo, strung as lights at eye level. When I see shrubs wearing mittens or rocks donning beanie-hats, I consider the small kindness to attempt their return and smile.
#HumanNature
#HumanNature
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
After a week of ice
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
January 12, 2026 at 8:38 AM
After a week of ice
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
Generation Gamma
- younger than Beta (born after Alpha = after Gen Z = after millenial, X, boomer) -
Began being born in 2024...
They're growing up in a post AI world, post-pandemic, post climate tipping point.
What would you teach/ share with Gen G, on how to experience joy, beauty, fun?
- younger than Beta (born after Alpha = after Gen Z = after millenial, X, boomer) -
Began being born in 2024...
They're growing up in a post AI world, post-pandemic, post climate tipping point.
What would you teach/ share with Gen G, on how to experience joy, beauty, fun?
January 12, 2026 at 8:39 AM
Generation Gamma
- younger than Beta (born after Alpha = after Gen Z = after millenial, X, boomer) -
Began being born in 2024...
They're growing up in a post AI world, post-pandemic, post climate tipping point.
What would you teach/ share with Gen G, on how to experience joy, beauty, fun?
- younger than Beta (born after Alpha = after Gen Z = after millenial, X, boomer) -
Began being born in 2024...
They're growing up in a post AI world, post-pandemic, post climate tipping point.
What would you teach/ share with Gen G, on how to experience joy, beauty, fun?
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Instead of dieting: Commuters can lose up to three kilograms a year if they switch from driving to public transportation. This was the finding of a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania. The reason is simple: the daily walk to the bus stop helps you lose weight.
January 10, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Instead of dieting: Commuters can lose up to three kilograms a year if they switch from driving to public transportation. This was the finding of a study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania. The reason is simple: the daily walk to the bus stop helps you lose weight.
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
First bird of my day: a pair of cuddling jackdaws perched on their chimney looking down on the sleepy village. #firstbirdofmyday #whatsyours
January 11, 2026 at 8:21 AM
First bird of my day: a pair of cuddling jackdaws perched on their chimney looking down on the sleepy village. #firstbirdofmyday #whatsyours
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
For a shot of perspective, it's always worth taking a moment to look up at the stars when a chance arises. Never fails. And should the wild & evocative hooting call of an owl be heard, in that same moment, all the better!
January 10, 2026 at 10:38 PM
For a shot of perspective, it's always worth taking a moment to look up at the stars when a chance arises. Never fails. And should the wild & evocative hooting call of an owl be heard, in that same moment, all the better!
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
A greater yellowlegs wading through its shallow wetland habitat for the #natural habitat theme of #birdoftheday picked by @alan678.bsky.social
#birds #photography #nature #eastcoastkin
#birds #photography #nature #eastcoastkin
January 11, 2026 at 8:24 AM
A greater yellowlegs wading through its shallow wetland habitat for the #natural habitat theme of #birdoftheday picked by @alan678.bsky.social
#birds #photography #nature #eastcoastkin
#birds #photography #nature #eastcoastkin
Reposted by Jen Ratcliffe
Day 11 - Every Summer thousands of Corellas arrive & take up residents in the trees in town. You cant get away from them. This was taken as they flew over my garden.
#365Project #Day11 #photography #wildlife #birds #silhouette #nature
@bskyphotos.bsky.social 📷📸 🐤
#365Project #Day11 #photography #wildlife #birds #silhouette #nature
@bskyphotos.bsky.social 📷📸 🐤
January 11, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Day 11 - Every Summer thousands of Corellas arrive & take up residents in the trees in town. You cant get away from them. This was taken as they flew over my garden.
#365Project #Day11 #photography #wildlife #birds #silhouette #nature
@bskyphotos.bsky.social 📷📸 🐤
#365Project #Day11 #photography #wildlife #birds #silhouette #nature
@bskyphotos.bsky.social 📷📸 🐤