-
1 week ago | 
msn.com | Phil Gates
Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
-
1 week ago | 
theguardian.com | Phil Gates
On our way into town this morning we found coltsfoot blooming on the bank of the River Tyne, and when I noticed a jar of coltsfoot rock in the corner of the Hexham Sweetie Jar’s bow-fronted window, it seemed like an auspicious moment to investigate this herbal confectionery.
-
3 weeks ago | 
msn.com | Phil Gates
Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
-
3 weeks ago | 
theguardian.com | Phil Gates
We’ve only been driving for a few minutes and already our passenger – a wood mouse – is restless. We caught it in the cupboard under the stairs this morning, lured into a humane trap with peanut butter bait. Wood mice seem to find this irresistible, and five have succumbed to its aroma this year; we’re hoping this might be the last for a while.
-
1 month ago | 
discoverwildlife.com | Phil Gates
The world of flowers is a vibrant tapestry of colours, shapes, and scents, but among the rich spectrum, one question often arises: Are there any truly black flowers? While nature offers a dazzling array of hues, the concept of a 'black' flower is more complex than it seemsThere are no truly black flowers, says Phil Gates. The biological purpose of petals is usually to attract pollinators, using coloured pigments that reflect one wavelength of light and absorb all others.
-
1 month ago | 
msn.com | Phil Gates
Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
-
1 month ago | 
theguardian.com | Phil Gates
A pair of collared doves in close formation glide in an elegant arc over the garden hedge and, with an angelic raising of wings, stall their flight and perform a feather-light landing. We used to see a lot of them, fewer in recent years. There’s a suggestion that the species has suffered from the same trichomonosis parasite that has afflicted greenfinches. Competition from wood pigeons – increasingly frequent garden visitors – might have been a factor too.
-
2 months ago | 
msn.com | Phil Gates
Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
-
2 months ago | 
theguardian.com | Phil Gates
At last, meteorological spring is almost within touching distance. For most of February I’ve found myself searching for reassurance that it’s on the way; the first snowdrop, recklessly early hazel catkins, a precocious celandine. Then yesterday reminded me of the folly of wishing winter away, of being blind to the subtle beauty of the season. I’d come hoping to hear calls of the first oystercatchers and curlews, returning to the valley to nest.
-
2 months ago | 
msn.com | Phil Gates
Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
