Unfortunately, living alongside the Ouse in York, it had wandered right into the middle of the busy riverside footpath. After a bit of impromptu botany I found some tansy just starting to shoot so we were able to move it out of danger and onto its food plant of choice.

A tansy beetle! Every year these little living jewels astonish me all over again. This one had woken up from hibernation and emerged into the warm weather of last weekend- not shockingly early, but definitely the earliest I’ve ever seen one.

#naturewriting #ukwildlife #beetles #365dayswild

I had a surprising discovery while doing some repotting at the weekend- an Aspidistra eliator flower! It was below the soil surface, which a quick search suggests is an evolutionary adaptation for pollination by either slugs and snails or fungus gnats. Some very cool botany!

Walking at dusk on the winter solstice. A buzzard flies out of the hedge just in front of me and drifts across the road into the trees on the other side. The white patches under its wings glow as the streetlights flick on, and it flies towards the last light in the sky.

#naturewriting #wildlife