Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Freestyle — How many puffins make a trail? We unexpectedly met a puffin while wandering along a local town's seafront. It wasn’t labeled, so we weren’t sure why it was there. Investigations revealed it to be part of the Puffins Galore project. And the answer to how many make a trail is 42, which sounds Douglas Adams-ish. …

Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Freestyle — One — where there should be dozens. In previous years, this bush has been alive with bees, sometimes showing more bee than flower head. It’s early, and things should improve, but we’ve noticed a loss of bees year on year. Studies have shown that the effect of diminishing bee populations on crop production is worse than anticipated…

Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Freestyle — A new way to get wet. On our last trip to the coast, we found that pavement fountains had sprung up. The sound of the water is drowned by the nearby rush of waves on the beach, but it is now possible to get wet without setting foot in the sea. Fountains have been around for…

Six Word Photo Story: Freestyle — Is Christmas late or very early? Storm Eunice brought the heaviest snow of the winter — big white flakes like floating balls of cotton wool. It barely settled, though it turned the landscape white for a few hours. By evening it was slush and by morning it was mud. We were the fortunate ones this time…

Reading old articles the other day it struck me that I’ve written a few about climate change. Not intentionally — it’s been some other route that’s taken me there. Watching barges carrying huge rocks led me to wonder about sea defences, and the distances from which the raw materials were…

January Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “Self” — Fed up with cleaning my boots! The mixture of organic remains, rock particles, minerals, clay, gasses, and liquids that comprise soil is amazing stuff. Soilscapes are a key component of our whole ecosystem. Soil, after all, is fundamental to feeding the world’s 7.9 billion people. We live in an area with heavy clay soil. It looks…

Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Freestyle — Storm interrupts leaving two threadbare tinsels. We aimed to decorate the tree today. Storm Barra raged outside but, although the increase in the number and ferocity of storms doesn’t bode well for the future, we had the dubious comfort of knowing that last year’s storms Dennis and Keira had found the weak spots in our trees…

But who holds the record? — What comes to mind when you think of a long-haul flight? Exhaustion … the tedium of the in-flight movie …? Be thankful you won’t have to share the plight of those who take long haul to extremes. Imagine Alaska to New Zealand — that’s over 11,500 kilometres (7145 miles). Oh…

In her article, Pink, Red, Dead, K. Barrett, asks the very pertinent question, why do we put so much more store on the colours of dying leaves than on dying flowers? It’s a good question. Why do we? On the strength of it, I decided to go out and photograph…

November Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “3” — Three posts hold back the sea. I don’t know for sure what timber these posts and planks are made from, but at the time they would have been put in, Greenheart timber from Guyana was a common choice. …

November Six Word Photo Story Challenge: “3” — Three blades, once round, house powered. It is often quoted that one revolution of the 3 blades produces enough power for one house for one day. Well … there are a lot of variables there. Here are 3: Size of the house? Size of the turbine? Daily power usage? But is it within the bounds of…

Dennis and Keira stormed across the world as a prelude to covid-19 — It was the tree we didn’t worry about; a smallish one compared to the giants that stood on either side, sheltered from the wind and with no sign of problems until the moment it fell.

October Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Scary —

October Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Scary — Where I am standing was underwater. The bridge I’m standing on is high above the water and has been here for decades, but after a single day of torrential rain in 2007, that brought floods (and the tragic death of 28-year-old Michael Barnett) to the region, the water came over the banks with enough force to…

September Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Clouds — Raging inferno — sky full of smoke. When I saw the sunrise this morning, it sent a shiver through me. In parts of the world, wildfires are eating up vast tracts of land. …

September Six Word Photo Story Challenge: Clouds —

The 6-Word Photo Story Summer Challenge —

6-Word Photo Story Summer Challenge —

6-Word Photo Story Summer Challenge — Beautiful waterway that smells of diesel There’s something special about a river meeting the sea, and it should have a particular energy to it when experienced live, but what a dismal disappointment to find yourself having to pinch your nose against the stench of diesel fumes. With thanks to Mary…

The 6-Word Photo Story Summer Challenge — Piles of stones? No. Bees’ nests. We had some building work to do with these stones, but a swarm of bees found the random arrangement just right for their needs and moved in. The world needs bees — building work can wait. With thanks to Mary Chang Story Writer and…