My first novel was written over the course of one calendar year and serialised online in 12 parts, as I produced them. When it concluded I was struck by the enthusiasm of some readers for a sequel, or even a series, based on the same characters and places. When the book was published this summer,Continue reading “Thoughts on starting to write a second novel”
Category Archives: Daily observation
Staying in one place: an interview with the naturalist Barbara Mearns
Having first come to the Nithsdale parish of Kirkmahoe in 1997, it’s a joy to still be getting to know people around here with extraordinary interests, passions and talents. Barbara Mearns is one such person. We live just a couple of miles apart but until this year we had only met a few times, althoughContinue reading “Staying in one place: an interview with the naturalist Barbara Mearns”
Lammas in the garden
It’s a time in the annual cycle that I have come to appreciate more and more over recent years. The beginning of August seems to bring a shift in the ‘feel’ of the summer. After the heady freshness of June and the hectic weeks of July, we somehow move into a period where the naturalContinue reading “Lammas in the garden”
A distracted month of June in the garden
Three things obscured serious attention to the Dumfriesshire garden this month. I was heavily involved in the logistics of ‘launching’ my first novel. We were away on a short but garden-rich holiday in the Cotswolds. At home, the weather was unpredictable, occasionally too hot, sometimes cold and breezy, and mostly very wet!
April come she will
April can seem full of deception. Promising much, then failing to deliver. Eulogized by the poets for its splendour, but also exposed by them as painful and cruel. The gateway to Spring, it still has frost on its back. Not for the first time in my life, I associate it this year with death andContinue reading “April come she will”
When Spring arrives
The man of March he sees the Spring and wonders what the year will bring* My early days of March are blighted by a heavy cold that vitiates productivity. The flu-like symptoms are made worse as our household struggles with the loss of a dear friend. On the weather front, it’s a month of hail,Continue reading “When Spring arrives”
In and around the garden: some fragments from January
The January man he goes around in woollen coat and boots of leather (1) The year begins with weather warnings. Frost settles into the garden ground and doesn’t move. Motivation is low. Piles of hazel thinnings lay unsorted or trimmed. Tall herbaceous plants, long past the ‘interesting in winter’ stage need cutting back. Leaves areContinue reading “In and around the garden: some fragments from January”
A walk by the Solway Firth
With my teenage daughter, on the second day of January 2025. We arrive at Southerness lighthouse, on the Solway shore. The tide is just on the ebb. To our right we can paddle through lapping waters and reach the track beyond. Here we pass huge boulders of white granite, barricaded to protect the properties above.Continue reading “A walk by the Solway Firth”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Zen influences
On a spring break this year at a well known family resort, I noticed that adjacent to the ‘spa’ and overlooked from the heated recliners was something called a ‘Zen garden’. I have to say I was quite taken by it and for some months pondered how something similar might be created in Dumfriesshire. Yes,Continue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Zen influences”
An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Year ending
It’s always a delight to see these catkins as the year is ending. Bright, shining, moving in the breeze, they are an inspiration for the year ahead. But elsewhere in the Dumfriesshire Garden there are still plenty of reminders of the year that’s coming to a close. The pictures below also have their own beauty,Continue reading “An A-Z of 2024 in the garden: Year ending”
Quotidian 