Category Archives: Natural history

The Shortest Day

Posted on 21/12/2015 by carolinemmurray

As the sun was (briefly) shining just now on the shortest day of the year, I took the opportunity to nip into the garden between cake icing and (yet more) mince pie making, to record what is still flowering after … Continue reading →

Posted in Botany, Gardens, Natural history | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Meeting Venus

Posted on 11/12/2015 by carolinemmurray

I had come across Jules Sébastien César Dumont D’Urville when we reissued his Voyage au Pole Sud et dans l’Océanie sur les corvettes l’Astrolabe et la Zélée: Exécuté par ordre du roi pendant les années 1837–1838–1839–1840 (in 10 volumes: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Exploration, History, Natural history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

The Naming of Birds

Posted on 30/11/2015 by carolinemmurray

‘Oh look!’ I remarked, ‘There’s a great tit on the fat balls!’ My Canadian visitor sounded taken aback: ‘That’s not the sort of thing you hear every day!’ On the contrary, you hear it quite a lot in my house … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Natural history | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment