Glimpses of Nature

A celebration and exploration of the natural world

Welcome to my website. I am an amateur botanist (interested in the wild flora of the UK) and lover of wildlife in general. I enjoy photography and drawing and painting the wildlife and wildflowers that I encounter, so this blog will explore the natural world through these media. It will also follow my journey as I attempt to improve my drawing and painting skills.

There's so much to see and learn in nature, it would take several lifetimes to get to know it all - we are privileged to get just a few glimpses.

The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. Henry Miller

All posts

Wildflowers

Birds and other animals

Artwork

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! This will be a place for me to share my plant- and wildlife-related thoughts, photos, drawings, paintings and...

ljm111

May 26, 20201 min read

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Keeping a perpetual journal

The year is going by so quickly! Already seeds and fruits are appearing in my perpetual journal. Recording the plants I see each week in...

ljm111

Aug 26, 20211 min read

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Practice, practice, practice... Pushing my boundaries

One of the things I have wanted to do ever since I started this drawing lark is to draw birds from life - to capture that moment in time,...

ljm111

May 6, 20213 min read

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Spring? Yes...no...yes!

It's been a slow start to spring after an initially promising start. It's been cold lately with northerly winds holding up many of our...

ljm111

May 6, 20212 min read

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Documenting the botanical year in my sketchbooks

My new home-made "Seasons" sketchbook is becoming a bit of an obsession! I have even made a second one, identical to the first but with...

ljm111

Mar 21, 20212 min read

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New year, new sketchbook projects

I have so many sketchbooks on the go, what's two more! But what do you do if you can't find any sketchbooks on the market that contain...

ljm111

Jan 13, 20213 min read

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Dipping into pen & ink

Pen and ink drawings have always appealed to me. My paternal grandfather was an artist and pen and ink was his medium. His subject matter...

ljm111

Dec 30, 20203 min read

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Some recent artwork

For some reason, as soon as autumn comes I just want to paint. Perhaps it's the colours or the drama of the changing seasons and the...

ljm111

Dec 9, 20203 min read

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Nature journaling - a glimpse inside my nature sketchbooks

A couple of years ago a started to keep a nature journal/sketchbook. It was mainly a record of things I had seen when out and about and...

ljm111

Nov 6, 20202 min read

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Dragons and Wolves

One of the best ways to learn about the natural world is to go out and look at it with someone who really knows their stuff. Last Friday,...

ljm111

Aug 16, 20204 min read

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An insect sort of day

Apparently this week is National Insect Week, so here's an appropriately insecty post. The other day we went to Deeping Lakes nature...

ljm111

Jun 22, 20201 min read

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Spring beyond the garden gate

Now the lockdown restrictions are easing a bit, our first trip out beyond the lanes around our house for two and half months felt...

ljm111

Jun 5, 20203 min read

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30 Days Wild. Day 1: a symphony in birdsong

For the last few years the Wildlife Trusts have been running a challenge to do something wild every day in June. I haven't signed up to...

ljm111

Jun 2, 20202 min read

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Why botanists avoid dandelions

I love dandelions. I love the sight in April of a grass verge or bank just covered with these little blobs of sunshine. A simple flower...

ljm111

May 30, 20203 min read

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A little bit of botanical art

For the last two or three years I have been painting some of the British wildflowers I see when I’m out and about. We have a lovely...

ljm111

May 26, 20201 min read

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ABOUT ME

My name is Lisa. Based in the UK, I'm an enthusiastic amateur botanist, lover of wildlife and wild places, keen photographer and have recently started to draw and paint the wildlife and plants that I encounter.