Taexalia

wild.life

Mother Nature’s Secrets

I found this little bundle of potential whilst I was digging out a small corner of the garden. I found two, but this is the one I took the photo of before I tucked it carefully back into the earth. It's the chrysalis of what will be and Angle Shades Moth.

This makes me sound knowledgeable and interesting but when I unearthed it I had no idea what I was looking ... read more

This Week I Twittered About…

iTweeting test... # RT @Natures_Voice: More on magpies from our newsblog - http://tinyurl.com/d2qyro can't believe people want to cull a species! # Sunscreen. Don't leave home without it. Even if only walking across Forth Road Bridge in Scotland in April. Freckled and PINK... # @givemestrength l-shaped-bath.com ?? x in reply to givemestrength # Watching someone attempt to swim with a Wii for the first time may require a Tena Lady # Silence is bliss... and the street light outside the ... read more

How To Make A Peg Bag

Now that I have an actual washing green with actual washing poles and actual washing lines (ones that do not come with the probability of being accosted by a lecherous drunk) I have the pleasure of hanging my washing out to dry in the fresh air, sunshine and wind. It is typical that the only casualty of our house move appears to be the peg bag, which arrived with a broken hanger. In line with my aspirations of removing myself from pointless consumerism and to reduce/re-use/recycle, I came up ... read more

My Kingdom For A Fork

I have discovered that owning land, no matter how small a plot of land it is, is not as simple as just signing the missives (how is that for a bit of link love?), stabbing a flag pole bird feeder into the earth and staking one's claim. I have also discovered that when you view a property, the perception you walk away with can be somewhat different from reality. For instance, @ was positive that we had a cupboard under the stairs as well as in the kitchen. He was planning ways to turn this ... read more

7 Reasons Why Moving House Should Come With A Valium Prescription

Three weeks have flown by since we crossed that bridge when we came to it, in fact we came to more bridges than we anticipated, both literally and figuratively - the literal bridge, the Forth Road Bridge, having to be crossed many more times than were originally included in The Plan. As I've said, compared with the stress we left behind, the actual moving process was a piece of cake - but that doesn't mean it was an entirely smooth and idyllic process. At times it was as about as smooth as ... read more

Potential

I was reading this article about the potential increase in costs, or perhaps the potential failure, of the Edinburgh Trams Project and I was struck by a few of the details... Now before I go on I need to state that I am often accused of nit-picking. I am often accused of nit-picking as if it is a negative thing. The thing about nit-picking is that if you don't pick nits you will end up with a very uncomfortable head. Or to put it another way: "If you think that something small cannot ... read more

New Portals

This is a test post as I try out Wordpress from my new iPhone... Technology moment or what? Here is a photo of the view from my desk - everything is new around here... Slowly emerging from all the boxes...

This Week I Twittered About…

TWEET!!! # How crap are Royal Mail? How crap are Virgin Media? How weird is the void? Resorted to dial-up... how crap is dial-up? New house ace though! # @richardbranson I tell you it is a bloody miracle that you manage an income. Talk about ineptitude! Your people sent us mail and actuall ... # I'm behind the times having been offline for ten days... but why was Piers Morgan's anti-Scottish outburst so acceptable? # Don't get me wrong - I love cats. I really do. But I am frustrated by ... read more

SoulCollage Snippet

Despite the chaos of moving house, the boxes that are everywhere and the circular journey of things as they are moved from one place to another as we try to set up house.... I managed to sneak an hour of creative play and indulge in the luxury of being able to spread out on my new table and make a mess... Two new SoulCollage cards created themselves and I love them both, not least as they are the first cards I have created in Fife :)

Movement

Movement is the word I chose as my theme for 2009, and movement is what I have been up to for the last couple of weeks - moving house involves nothing but movement from place to place and from dawn til dusk... and beyond. I will miss the foxes, Crow and the mannie doonstairs, but apart from that - I am not sure words can express how in love with our new home I am. I have views, I have peace and quiet, I have the sight (and sometimes the sound) of Buzzards discussing territory high above the ... read more

This Week I Twittered About…

Porn... torture... sleaze... illegal wars... is this a party political thing...? A power thing...? A new thing...? Or just a human thing...? # http://tinyurl.com/3abtqc comedic interlude # @DowningStreet does that include the politicians? in reply to DowningStreet # @je72 keep posting you are inspiring me x in reply to je72 # Just ordered furniture online for my neighbour - some people don't actually have a computer or an email address! Always happy to help :) # OK someone stick a ... read more

Recycling

Natural woodland needs dead wood as well as live. Dead trees provide food and shelter for many creatures, plants and fungi - who in turn provide food for other creatures.

A dead tree stump becomes a fanfare of colour as these Turkey Tails recycle the nutrients, they in turn migt feed a mouse or insect.

I think the Turkey Tail fungi echo the texture and pattern of ... read more