Nicola Pitchford
@npitchford.bsky.social
Immigrant. Winner of the inaugural Nature Chronicles Prize (2022). She/her. In Northern California on unceded Coast Miwok land.
The sky is lavender-pink in all four directions. It truly feels like physical nourishment. Not a presence; but food.
November 11, 2025 at 2:43 PM
The sky is lavender-pink in all four directions. It truly feels like physical nourishment. Not a presence; but food.
Keep thinking of your wee spud when I see my late aunty's vintage Scotty, who was handed down first to her younger sister (my mum) & subsequently to me. I think this well-loved fellow is approaching 100, so his stuffing has moved a bit with gravity & there's grey in his fur. But who amongst us....
November 11, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Keep thinking of your wee spud when I see my late aunty's vintage Scotty, who was handed down first to her younger sister (my mum) & subsequently to me. I think this well-loved fellow is approaching 100, so his stuffing has moved a bit with gravity & there's grey in his fur. But who amongst us....
And then there’s the view from my (lovely) office. Just perfect autumn light & colour today.
(Please do not expect me to get work done.)
(Please do not expect me to get work done.)
November 10, 2025 at 6:02 PM
And then there’s the view from my (lovely) office. Just perfect autumn light & colour today.
(Please do not expect me to get work done.)
(Please do not expect me to get work done.)
Or walking into a room when you’re leaving soon
November 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Or walking into a room when you’re leaving soon
That moment on the threshold of leaving a room.
November 10, 2025 at 2:46 PM
That moment on the threshold of leaving a room.
The morning sky is feeding me.
November 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
The morning sky is feeding me.
Outstanding pull quote
November 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Outstanding pull quote
Windy & golden on the big hill this morning. The sickle (or scimitar) shape of a small hawk hangs immobile above me, partner in blue to the receding moon. Where the trees lean close to the trail, clusters of tiny bushtits squeaking.
November 9, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Windy & golden on the big hill this morning. The sickle (or scimitar) shape of a small hawk hangs immobile above me, partner in blue to the receding moon. Where the trees lean close to the trail, clusters of tiny bushtits squeaking.
I never grew deeply attached to this generous-but-always-temporary house, yet I do keep thinking of how these beautiful views over the garden filled my mother’s final weeks. And I’m grateful.
(Those are the garden steps where I broke my wrist.)
(Those are the garden steps where I broke my wrist.)
November 9, 2025 at 2:40 PM
I never grew deeply attached to this generous-but-always-temporary house, yet I do keep thinking of how these beautiful views over the garden filled my mother’s final weeks. And I’m grateful.
(Those are the garden steps where I broke my wrist.)
(Those are the garden steps where I broke my wrist.)
A grey, drizzly, thoroughly British morning. But there are coyotes whooping somewhere on the hill, the roadsides are glowing with fiery leaves & the California buckeye trees have hung out their bright baubles.
November 7, 2025 at 3:28 PM
A grey, drizzly, thoroughly British morning. But there are coyotes whooping somewhere on the hill, the roadsides are glowing with fiery leaves & the California buckeye trees have hung out their bright baubles.
Maybe there’s a little bit of magic in the air tonight.
November 5, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Maybe there’s a little bit of magic in the air tonight.
Also playing dress-up for the day.
C’mon CA & NYC let’s go.
C’mon CA & NYC let’s go.
November 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Also playing dress-up for the day.
C’mon CA & NYC let’s go.
C’mon CA & NYC let’s go.
I am an immigrant & I vote. Fear me.
(Privileged to be a citizen also.)
(Privileged to be a citizen also.)
November 4, 2025 at 3:12 PM
I am an immigrant & I vote. Fear me.
(Privileged to be a citizen also.)
(Privileged to be a citizen also.)
Grateful today for the regathering-in of the morning light — & for the clean clear whistled notes of the golden-crowned sparrow (no kings but), with its accrued layers of winter memory.
November 3, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Grateful today for the regathering-in of the morning light — & for the clean clear whistled notes of the golden-crowned sparrow (no kings but), with its accrued layers of winter memory.
Oh yes, the autumn light from this window. I had forgotten. It feels lonely to me, makes me think of my mother in this room.
November 3, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Oh yes, the autumn light from this window. I had forgotten. It feels lonely to me, makes me think of my mother in this room.
Apologies but I cannot wait until #SmallBeautiesHour to share this pic of my great-nibling in Halloween costume. In case you need a squee.
November 2, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Apologies but I cannot wait until #SmallBeautiesHour to share this pic of my great-nibling in Halloween costume. In case you need a squee.
This glorious morning. I think the Nicasio Valley is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.
And there in the mist was the ancestral village of Etcha Tamal, on land recently re-acquired by a group of Huukuiko Coast Miwok people.
And there in the mist was the ancestral village of Etcha Tamal, on land recently re-acquired by a group of Huukuiko Coast Miwok people.
November 1, 2025 at 5:01 PM
This glorious morning. I think the Nicasio Valley is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen.
And there in the mist was the ancestral village of Etcha Tamal, on land recently re-acquired by a group of Huukuiko Coast Miwok people.
And there in the mist was the ancestral village of Etcha Tamal, on land recently re-acquired by a group of Huukuiko Coast Miwok people.
Does the fact that I just ate one of these November surprises mean I’m going to have to spend the next 6 months in Hades?
(Wouldn’t mind a 3-headed dog tho. More to pat.)
(Wouldn’t mind a 3-headed dog tho. More to pat.)
November 1, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Does the fact that I just ate one of these November surprises mean I’m going to have to spend the next 6 months in Hades?
(Wouldn’t mind a 3-headed dog tho. More to pat.)
(Wouldn’t mind a 3-headed dog tho. More to pat.)
The phone camera really can’t capture the intensity of it, but it’s as if I’ve stepped onto a stage set of Miss Haversham’s garden, done with all the stops pulled out.
November 1, 2025 at 4:11 PM
The phone camera really can’t capture the intensity of it, but it’s as if I’ve stepped onto a stage set of Miss Haversham’s garden, done with all the stops pulled out.
The damp woods have decorated themselves everywhere with mist-hung cobwebs for Samhain. Entirely biodegradable!
November 1, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The damp woods have decorated themselves everywhere with mist-hung cobwebs for Samhain. Entirely biodegradable!
The usual office menagerie was enhanced today by a bee & a penguin. Much more cuddly & less fishy-smelling than one might expect.
October 31, 2025 at 12:51 AM
The usual office menagerie was enhanced today by a bee & a penguin. Much more cuddly & less fishy-smelling than one might expect.
Irresponsibly posting my location on social media
October 28, 2025 at 11:51 PM
Irresponsibly posting my location on social media
The two weeks of darkest mornings of the year, here in America (where the clocks don’t change yet). Trying to make this a time of small deliberate ritual, not just chilly reluctance.
October 28, 2025 at 1:18 PM
The two weeks of darkest mornings of the year, here in America (where the clocks don’t change yet). Trying to make this a time of small deliberate ritual, not just chilly reluctance.
Autumn colours from the wet garden this morning. I ate the first sweet orange from our tree & made a single jar of rosehip syrup for winter sniffles, to be amended/supplemented with brandy when the doctor orders. (Doctorate in literature counts.)
October 27, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Autumn colours from the wet garden this morning. I ate the first sweet orange from our tree & made a single jar of rosehip syrup for winter sniffles, to be amended/supplemented with brandy when the doctor orders. (Doctorate in literature counts.)
Finest set of antlers I’ve ever seen on a blacktail deer around here. Long may the King of Autumn reign.
October 26, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Finest set of antlers I’ve ever seen on a blacktail deer around here. Long may the King of Autumn reign.