Apologies to all my followers for the lack of posts this summer.  I have lots of stories to tell: of rock pooling, fossil hunting and adventures in the Canadian Rockies.  Maybe they can sustain my tales through the winter months as I recount my journals.  But for now I am back home from my travels preparing myself for the new academic year and all the joys and challenges that it will bring.

September has crept silently through my window along with the house spiders and crane flies. The nights are rapidly drawing in and the light is changing.

After a day spent behind my computer screen, I scoop up my camera and binoculars and head out for my favourite cycle route which takes me through the changing countryside and a number of small villages.  I feel my mood immediately lift as I inhale the evening air and taste its freshness. …