How to… tell a cricket from a grasshopper
The strident chirruping and whirring of crickets and grasshoppers is a sound of the summer. Warm, sunny days near a meadow or even a small patch of longer grass are often accompanied by this music of hot and lazy days. They have a distinctive look with a large head, stocky body and those characteristic long…
How to… tell a dragonfly from a damselfly
My introduction to Odonata I grew up in a suburb of Harare, Zimbabwe1, in the beautiful high plains of continental Africa. The landscape around Harare was open grassland with ranges of low rocky hills and some enormous granite outcrops. Local rivers were small and seasonal, raging torrents for a brief spell when the rains broke,…
How to… tell a moth from a butterfly
Butterflies are beautiful insects and something we associate with summer sunshine, meadows and flowers. They feature in fabric, fashion, earrings and tattoos, butterfly kisses and symbols of the soul. In ancient Greek the word for butterfly is psyche, indicating how we use them to represent something from within. Around the world they are traditionally associated…
How to… make elderflower cordial
At the end of May in the south of England the elderflowers start to open, adding their delicate perfume to the heady mix of spring scents. As May turns to June the flowering spreads north and with it the wave of households making elderflower cordial. It’s a refreshing, aromatic summer drink and an excellent addition…
How to … de-plastic your bathroom
In January 2019 I joined a wonderful group of women on a trip to Mafia Island in the Indian Ocean off Tanzania. It was in many ways a visit to Paradise (blog coming soon) but in others a wake-up call to the insane profligacy and consumerism of privileged life in the western world. While there…
Wild About Life 