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At the beginning of 2020, I decided to try a bullet journal to better organise the year. Having used it for a year, although I won’t use it for 2021, I wanted to share an accomplishment related to my highlights of 2020 and bullet journaling: designing my own bullet journal cover. Design Your Bullet Journal Monthly Cover with Wildlife You Watch My highlights in 2020 were all about nature and wildlife; designing each month’s cover on the bullet journal with wildlife sightings and natural experiences was the best way to record them. Every month, I noted new species I encountered in person or any interesting episode or experience about wildlife in the UK. Among them, the most memorable one became a topic for next month’s cover design. My families and friends loved this idea and with their support, I’m going to continue to do so for 2021 as well. :)…

A Very Lucky Night to See 3 Different Species of Wildlife: Badger, Fox and Hedgehog (Part 2) Getting ready for the badger watching night Our badger watching evening came, 15th September, as we set after finding the perfect evidence of badger activities. We started getting ready from 4-5 pm. Things we prepared were a mini step ladder, a flat sheet, 2 sets of binoculars, a red light head torch, the fatty parts of sliced ham and meatballs. As animals have a much better sense of smell, we also had a quick shower. We didn’t use a shower gel or shampoo but just water, as they could leave another scent! Josh cooked pasta for a quick supper at 6-ish, then we set off for an evening adventure. We were a bit concerned about timing, as a reference said arriving an hour before sunset but we left later than we planned… But…

A Very Lucky Night to See 3 Different Species of Wildlife: Badger, Fox and Hedgehog (Part 1) Early last month, Josh and I had a stroll in the woods near where we live. Not only do foxes and deer live here, but also badgers, so he suggested we pick a day and come back at dusk for badger watching. Being excited about the idea, I said yes! and we focused on finding evidence of badgers as we walked. The traces of badgers we were looking for included badger setts and pits, which would play an important role to determine where we should return to have the maximum chance to spot a badger. One of the clues for working out where badgers live is arc-shaped setts with a clear path leading to the entrance, like above. On this occasion, this group of badgers cleverly used a tree trunk that had fallen…

2 weekends ago, I went wild blackberry picking for the first time ever. I heard that normally the peak season for blackberries in the UK is between mid-July and September; but I wasn’t sure how good they would be this year, due to the lack of rain and hot weather. We ventured out with 3 containers, 15~20 minutes away from home, where Josh’s grandmother had seen a lot of wild blackberries. Indeed, we saw many in various conditions on a hill slope where few people would choose to walk. Alongside the wild blackberries was plenty of evidence of rabbits and foxes. They must’ve been very happy seeing all these foods and tucking in! I asked Josh which ones I should take, to which he advised me to pick ones that were not mushy, but instead fairly firm and a rich black. He also added that I should avoid ones that…

On a summery day, Josh and I wanted to do something special on his birthday, after months of staying home. Over the past months, whenever we walked or drove with a view of the River Wye, he often said ‘it would be nice to go canoeing on the Wye while we were in Wales’. And his birthday was the perfect day to make it happen! Although we could go virtually sightseeing in Wales, it couldn’t beat real activities in the great Welsh outdoors. Since the Welsh government gradually lifted the lockdown, some outdoor facilities started to reopen. In Symonds Yat, a popular viewpoint of the River Wye, there are many canoe hire companies for the visitors. We decided, if the weather was good, to hire a canoe from one of those companies. The company we went with for a canoe hire was Canoe the Wye. At the time of our…