Sign of the Week
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Tag: extraordinary
The Search for Boar Wallows
A Guest Blog by Chantal Lyons, author of Groundbreakers: The Wild Boar’s Return to Britain. It took me five months to find. The boar were…
Is this a Sunrise or a Sunset?
Is this a sunrise or sunset? And Why? Spoiler alert… answer below… Moss on the roof suggests that is more likely the north side of…
What is a Stationary or Standing Wave?
A stationary or standing wave forms when water is pulled back against the flow by gravity. When water flows over an underwater ledge and then…
Nature Junkie Radio
A new podcast interview: https://www.naturejunkielife.com/naturejunkieradio/tristangooley
Giant Viper’s-Bugloss and Natural Navigation
Giant Viper’s-Bugloss, Echium pininana, is a tall flowering plant in the borage family, native to La Palma in the Canary Islands. It shows a strong…
Back from Iceland
I’m back from an intense and rewarding research trip to Iceland. I’ve just added some of my favourite clues, signs and other observations to The…
The Stickiness of Water
Water rises up and forms individual droplets on leaves because it is ‘sticky’, it is literally attracted to itself. The hydrogen atoms in each molecule…
How to Use the UK Military’s Survival Compass to Tell the Time
A guest blog by John Hudson FRGS, the UK military’s Chief Survival Instructor. Direction finding in the military these days uses lots of technology, but…
Ice Wall in Finland
I’ve just received another fascinating email from ‘Chris in Finland’: I took this photo a few days ago on Lake Näsijärvi, Tampere, Pirkanmaa, Finland. This…
Which Way Are We Looking – Night Walk
I went for a very enjoyable night walk in the South Downs last night. What direction are we looking in the photo above? Answer… We…
Beautiful Gate Latch
I was walking through the Goodwood Estate yesterday when I came across something strange and beautiful.
What is the Planetary Boundary Layer?
From The Secret World of Weather: The lowest part of the atmosphere is the only area strongly influenced by the sun’s radiative heating of the…
Frozen Splash Sculpture
Water sprayed by cars driving through a puddle has frozen in the layer of very cold air near the ground.
A Lifeboat in the Desert
In these strange times, it felt appropriate to share some photos of a lifeboat I found abandoned in the desert outside a village in Sharjah,…
Temperature Inversion in Yellowstone
My thanks to George Bumann for sending over this great pic of a temperature inversion in Yellowstone Park. During temperature inversions cool air becomes trapped…
How to Navigate Using Snow Strips
As is my habit at this time of year, I like to get out early after any overnight snow. The tracking opportunities are spoiling and…
Tuareg Jewellery Compass?
My thanks to Adele in Australia for this fascinating email. Hi Tristan,I just read your article on navigating the Sahara with Tuareg tribesmen – fascinating,…
Evolving Views
With bumps on the road, hopefully each year we grow more enlightened in our view of nature and our relationship with it. But there is…
What is a Great Circle?
When I first learned about great circles, I found them to be one of the most eye-opening, head-scratching and strangely beautiful concepts in navigation. I…
The Nature Instinct
The Nature Instinct has been published in the US! “A captivating guide to finding one’s way in the wild.” —The Wall Street Journal “An imperative…