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The Nar Valley in Norfolk – A foot safari during the Covid lockdown.
John and Margaret Cooper’s Pentney to King’s Lynn ‘safari’ 13 – 15 July 2020. A report on our walk – and the natural history that we saw – for the FFON Armchair Naturalist website: https://thefrightenedfaceofnature.com/ Part 1. Last month we decided, as a break from our fifteen-week Covid-19 “lockdown”, to explore the River Nar on…
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Pond life.
By Graham Wellstead. My garden, like many, contains a pond. Not a great lake, just a small formal pond about 8ft square with raised sides, the theory being we could sit on the edge and watch the fish. All the fish were born in the pond and over the past thirty years have gone up…
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“Where have all the flowers gone?”
By John and Margaret Cooper. On Monday 23rd March 2020, nine weeks ago, we started to “self-isolate” as over 70s in our tiny cottage in Norfolk. During our lockdown we have taken most of our government-sanctioned daily exercise by strolling down a nearby narrow country lane. We have used these walks to observe plants and…
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Growing close to nature during the lockdown
Written by Sean Wensley. Northern Ireland is in an extended period of lockdown as I write, 3 weeks beyond the rest of the UK. For a further three weeks, I toggle between my work desk, garden and 8-month-old baby, buying shopping to last as long as possible and clapping for NHS staff and other key…
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“April … hath put a spirit of youth in everything”
John and Margaret Cooper submitted the piece below, with photos, for the FFON Armchair Naturalist, from their friend Dr Jennifer Whybrow BVSc MSc MRCVS. Jennifer’s notes reflect changes during April, during the first few weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown. She enjoys her garden but, like all of us, has to strike a balance between maintaining…
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Here in Germany, we do watch a lot from our windows
Written by John F. Burton in Germany, who knew and worked with Maxwell Knight: Thank you very much for your kind email and your inspiring internet (FFON) piece, which we enjoyed reading. Here in Germany, we do watch a lot from our windows (passing White Storks, Grey Herons, Cormorants, Buzzards, Sparrowhawks, Goshawks, Jays, etc.) and…
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“Warning of ‘ecological Armageddon’ after dramatic plunge in insect numbers”
The Guardian reported in October that “Three–quarters of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany have vanished in 25 years, with serious implications for all life on Earth, scientists say.” It’s funny how scientists often confirm what we instinctively know. Anyone who’s driven a car this summer will have noted how few insects there…
