Natural(ist) Blonde: 2020

For the past two months, we have felt luckier than ever before. As the restrictions came in I have been able to move my teaching online, continuing to work alongside my fantastic, adaptable colleagues and persevering students.

When not teaching or marking, Jack and I have been trying out hand at brewing and winemaking (as well as flavouring some gin), as well as focusing on the garden and fields around it for entertainment. In the good weather, we've been sowing the seeds flowering plants in the garden, enjoying the antics of the robins, wrens, tree sparrows and bluetits nesting in the garden.

The first brood, one day before fledging

We have also had a new patch tick (grasshopper warbler) and a new garden tick (cuckoo!), as well as amazing interactions with some of our local mammals, particularly the weasels and hares.

A wonderful neighbour has also been kind enough to give us had a number of carcasses (and some really welcome venison), and we have placed them out on the hill. In addition to giving us great images of the local kites (who are only interested in on the day the meat goes out), the spot is also a hub for a curious little badger family. The kites are wing tagged and I hope to find out a little more about them in the coming weeks.

However, my real saviour has been the moth trap, which has bought me several new species (plus numerous old favourites) as well as the creeping knowledge that I must buy a book on micro-moths. The trap (and driving Jack to work) has kept me to a fairly reasonable routine, preventing me from succumbing to daily lie-ins, and the amazing #teammoth community on twitter have stopped me pulling my hair out when I'm unsure of an ID.

I'm not pretending that it hasn't been strange (and that I'm not longing to do a bit more long-distance birding) but there really is no place like home. So, for now, I'll leave you with some of the real beauties that have graced the trap since the lockdown started.