Author: darren.young
-
Waxing lyrical
As I sit waiting for my stop on the Tube, a not-so-faint smell of alcohol and smoke fills the carriage. The woman across from me faceplants onto the chair across from her, as her neighbour belches out a drunken moan. It’s 8AM, on new years morning. I’m feeling fresh and ready for the challenge ahead.…
-
The birding chronicles
I started birding just over a year back, and whilst I’m not exactly a twitcher, I’ve definitely embraced it on occasion. This year [2024], I agreed to the challenge of getting 150 UK ticks (that is, 150 distinct species in the UK for the year). If I’ve been properly informed, this is an amount which…
-
This goose means business
The mandarin word for penguin, apparently translates to “business goose”. There are some nuances, and the meme has been made to fit, but I think that’s just fine. Penguin is actually a Welsh word pen- (head) and -gwyn (white). Far less appealing than a business goose
-
The tears of terrapins
Butterfly drink the tears of terrapins, literally. Apparently something to do with the sodium in their tears, pretty wild though
-
6 to 12 months or more
“6 to 12 months or more”, she said confidently. We were in South Africa at foreign affairs, trying to renew a passport, or something similarly mundane. Oh to be as boundless and free. Endless [possibilities].
-
Let me fly
I’d always seen people post pictures of hummingbirds in their signature pose, hovering alongside a flower. I finally got to watch them in action in Costa Rica, and try my hand and photographing them. It took some practise but I was never short of subjects. This is a Coppery-headed Emerald. It weighs just over 3…
-
We were exploding anyway
This will be a sandbox, for my photography, and data habits. It might also end up posing a threat of daily musings. Cranking this short piece out to make sure that it really is daily.