The abundant wisteria in the neighbourhood looks much better to the eye than to the camera. No matter.

I had hoped to be able to solve a mystery for this post; why do Italians call wisteria glicine? To me, the Greek root for glycine is associated with sweetness, although the plant that springs...

Everything that I wanted to come through the winter has, some of it in rare good form.

The bonsai wisteria, one of seven that I grew from seed I collected in 2007, is still bonsai and flowering for all it is worth. The flower colours and other aspects differ among the seven; I wonder whether I mig...

View Bike ride 2012-03-18 in a larger map

Rome is not a cycle-friendly city. It could be, if the Romans could be persuaded to give up their beloved motor cars, of which, in 2008, there were 2.4 million to 2.5 million people. Not sure whether that is people people, or people old enough to dri...

Best version of this trope I’ve ever seen. Good old John Downer, still producing amazing footage, even if some of the edits are just a bit too obvious for my taste. The entire series of Earthflight might be worth watching out for.

You can turn anything into a competitive endeavour, it seems, even the contemplative, mindful here-and-nowness of scything, which I have long loved.

I miss my scythes (yes, plural).¹

(And in case you were wondering whatever happened to Nettle Awareness Week, it has apparently been relaunched...