Just over one month ago I was given three young chickens as a birthday present from my fiancée. I had often spoken of keeping chickens but had never actually owned any before. I was really surprised to say the least, but instantly fell in love with them. They were only seven weeks old at that stage. I decided on their names, (Daisy, Eileen and Betty after my two grandmothers … [Read more...]
Dr Dreadful’s Letter from America: The Concrete Savanna
Scattered across the suburbs of countless cities in the American West are huge parcels of undeveloped land. Sometimes simple tracts of unkempt scrub, sometimes ploughed to keep weeds and trees from taking root, these prime pieces of real estate, sometimes stretching for many miles, unbroken except by the occasional stand of eucalyptus or ash, are literally pieces of wilderness … [Read more...]
Dr Dreadful’s Letter from America: Extreme Weather – Or Not
Spring has come to the San Joaquin Valley. After a month of almost continuous winter rain, the normally brown foothills are briefly washed in a watery bloom of green. The rain has purged the smog and particulates, drawing them back like a lace curtain and revealing the snow-laden Sierra Nevada mountains, rarely seen from the city but now crisp and immediate in the suddenly … [Read more...]