The ‘Leaves on the Line’ Problem
For many years, British commuters have found themselves caught between bemused laughter and rage when told their train isn’t running because of ‘leaves on the…
Tag: seasons
Autumn Appears First in High Southern Leaves
Autumn / Fall appears first in the highest leaves on the warmer southern side of the tree. More on this and other seasonal signs in…
Leaves are a Lighter Colour in Early Spring
The first leaves in spring are much lighter in colour than those of summer. As the seasons progress, the leaves have a higher concentration of…
Spring Starts Low in Trees
Leaves burst out earliest low down in the smallest trees and lowest branches. For more seasonal tree signs, please see How to Read a Tree.
How Do Trees Know When It’s Spring
How Do Trees Know When It’s Spring? Broadleaf trees have to work out the best time to come into leaf each year, they need to…
The Sun is Now Over the Southern Hemisphere
This morning I headed out early into the hills. It was strangely satisfying to watch the sun rise south of east for the first time…
The Meaning of Bluebells
The bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) is a perennial bluish-purple bell-shaped wildflower of the Lily family (Liliaceae). It is a European plant, common in the British Isles.…
Snow Tells Tales About Trails
There are many different kinds of snow, as the Inuit know only too well. You are probably familiar with how easy it is to track…
The Joy of Signs in Spring
by Tristan Gooley Time outdoors has become precious and there’s a joy in this. We’re all about to get better at appreciating the beauty and…
The Darkest Two Months of the Year
The sun is well over the southern hemisphere now. Sunrises and sunsets are well south too. In the northern hemisphere we have entered the darkest…
How to Capture the Sun
I’m just back from Kincaldineshire. A big thank you to the extraordinary Charlie and Caroline Gladstone for inviting me to run a couple of mini…
Daisies a Sign of Spring
They say it’s not spring until your foot could cover twelve daisies… but I prefer to feel the glow that comes from spotting the way…
Scorpius Returns
In this image the three brightest objects in the sky are, from left to right, Venus, the moon and Jupiter. But look carefully to the…
The Walker’s Guide to Outdoor Clues and Signs
The ultimate guide to what the land, sun, moon, stars, trees, plants, animals, sky and clouds can reveal – when you know what to look…
Anthocyanins, Sunlight and Navigation
It is that time of year. As the other pigments are drawn back into the plant, the red, orange and yellows of the anthocyanin compounds…
Equinoctial Gales
There is a widely held and strong belief that gales are more frequent at the equinoxes, but the observations don’t really support this. According to…
Orion Returns
Look east just before dawn on a clear morning and you’ll now be able to see an old friend returning. Orion is blotted out by…
The Cuckoo Flower – a sign of damp ground
The Cuckoo Flower (cardamine pratensis), a.k.a. Lady’s Smock, is out near me. It is easily identified by its early blooming and four pale pink petals.…
An Email from Canada
Occasionally I post some of the wonderfully varied and international correspondence I receive (with permission). My thanks to Paul at BushcraftCanada.com for this little gem…
Winter Colour, Spindle and Yarrow
Fine walking conditions prevailed over much of the UK this weekend and so I disappeared into the hills for a few hours with the dog.…
The Equinox. It’s as clear as night and day.
When does the line between day and night become vertical? By which I mean, when does it run from the North Pole straight down to…