Bug Woman is a slightly scruffy middle-aged woman who enjoys nothing more than finding a large spider in the bathroom. She plans to spend the next five years exploring the parks, woods and pavements within a half-mile radius of her North London home, and reporting on the animals, plants and people that she finds there. She will also be paying close attention to the creatures that turn up in the garden and the house. She promises to post every week on a Saturday, and more often if she can tear herself away from the marmalade making. She looks forward to finding out what’s happening in your half-mile.
Wellcome to the blogosphere!
A lovely blog. I will be reading this regularly.
Thank you Bob! I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog.
Wonderful, wonderful blog. I just spent an hour reading all your entries so far, and have learnt so much. This is such a huge topic, but so little-covered, so I’m sure you’ll have enough material to keep going for years. I’ll read every word. Cheers, M@ (from Londonist).
Thank you so much Matt, I’m so glad that you’re enjoying my adventures!
What a well-written, incredibly informative blog! (I came to you via the Spitalfields Life site – although I live in Canada.) I’ll post you and “like” you various places…hopefully others will stumble upon you too.
Hi Susan, thank you so much – I’m really glad that you’re enjoying the blog. My husband is Canadian (from Toronto), so it’s a place that I’m also extremely fond of.
What a wonderful blog. I have found you via Spitalfieldslifeblog. and passed you on to friends who have already commented how much they like it. You are a person after my own heart. I’m always amazed at the flowers that seed themselves in our neighbourhood. I grew up in London and the London Plane is a very special tree for me, it transforms the city into something more beautiful and now I am even more informed about it! I especially like the ones along the Thames Embankment. On our road in Lambeth, the Council planted an avenue of May trees in the 1970’s and with time they became the homes to many sparrows and we would spend hours watching their comings and goings. My husband John finds much inspiration for his art work in “weeds and pests” amongst other things. http://www.johndilnot.com. I am so looking forward to future posts and I am completely engaged by your way of writing about your subject.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog. The plants that appear in the smallest cracks and crevices of London always amaze me – they are every bit as feisty and adaptable as the Londoners that they live amongst. I’m off now to have a look at your husband’s blog….
Wow, your husband’s work is fantastic, gorgeous stuff. I especially like the pests and the weeds, of course…..
thank you, he spent part of his childhood grubbing about in the soil too!
I like your style of writing very much, and you’re a keen observer and write with a lot of sensibility.
I found your blog through Sharon Blackie’s new book and am looking forward to hearing more about your local creatures 🙂
Thank you Lorna, I hope you enjoy your visits!
I found you via the Gentle Author’s site. Is it possible to subscribe to your blog/newsletter and receive it on a regular basis?
Hi Ameleat, welcome, I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog!A little box marked ‘follow’ should pop up at the bottom right-hand side of the screen when you’re in the blog – just click there and enter your email address, and you should get the blog twice a week. Let me know if you have any problems and I’ll try to help, thanks, Bugwoman
My name is Mark Roper, I have a piece in Earthlines 15, and I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your piece there. I was brought up in New Barnet, near where you are now: we used to go swimming in the outdoor and indoor pools in Finchley. Now living near Waterford in Ireland. I look forward to reading more of your blog. Very best,
Mark
Oh, thank you Mark! I am away at the moment so haven’t had a chance to read my Earthlines, but will be getting stuck into it when I get home. Waterford is beautiful, I imagine there are lots of swimming opportunities! All the best to you too, Vivienne
Fascinating posts! Regards Thom
Thanks, Thom! I like your blog, too….
Hi V., l read about your blog on Sharon Blackie’s book “If women rose rooted”. I felt immediately connected to your story and because I too am a “city girl” but have been connected to Earth and all the other inhabitants (including elements) since I was a child. I connect less now, it happens sporadically when I backpack to ecovillages, farms and permaculture gatherings, but in general, I’m stuck inside a cubicle close to downtown Vancouver (Canada, BC) and get home so late (after a two-hour public transit commute) that it’s almost impossible to do anything but going home to my cats and dogs (and the many herbs and spiders living around!)…I don’t have the gift of photography but I love watching the pictures…thank you for doing this and committing to this love, this going back home…
Thank you, Silvia – I’m glad that you’re enjoying the blog, and I hope that you soon get more time to enjoy your connection to nature. I spent part of my honeymoon in Vancouver so I know how horrendous the commute can be, but loved the forests and mountains and coastline that surround the city. And our dogs and cats and the insects and plants that we have in our homes all help to remind us that we’re part of nature, not separate from it, don’t they. Thank you for taking the time to comment, and for reaching out.
A lovely blog ☼
Thank you! Much appreciated….
Just read your post about your mother. You are brave, and you are kind. You are also a wonderful writer. So glad I found your blog via the Hyacinthoides post. Hang in there.
Thanks so much Helen, your comment has made my day!
Thank you and I wish you the best of luck with your project !!!
Hi. I came across your blog while searching for information about some bugs I found in my garden. It’s very interesting and I’ll keep reading.
if you are interested in ‘my bugs’ and can help with identification, I’d be very grateful. Here’s a link to my post https://oldyarnsandwoollythoughts.wordpress.com/2020/07/27/bugs/ Thank you.
You are brilliant! Thank you so much for looking at my post and identifying the shield bugs. I really appreciate this. All the best and thanks again. 🙂
I’m so glad to have found your blog. It’s an inspiration – I should revive my blog and do the same, I think. I record anything and everything invertebrate in my rural garden near Peterborough and it would be lovely to do something like this. I might even inspire others … heaven knows I’ve been trying hard enough with little success. By the way, I was born in North London!
Good afternoon Jay, so sorry not to have approved this earlier it went straight into Spam (goodness knows what WordPress is thinking these days….) I think you might discover a whole community of other invertebrate lovers if you started to blog, and it’s a great way to find out more about the creatures that you find, and to enlighten others. Give it a go! What do you have to lose?