Helen McAra
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hedgerownibbler.bsky.social
Helen McAra
@hedgerownibbler.bsky.social
I run plant & fungi ident courses, helping people reconnect with nature & discover the amazing wild foods of the UK. Nature lover especially wild orchids. Often found in woods & meadows hunting for inner peace and fungi. Wild Seasons Foraging #wildfood
Reposted by Helen McAra
#TuesdayBlue with fabulous Himalayan blue poppies at #BodnantGardens six months ago. Such a dreamy colour, no apologies if I've posted this one before! 🤭 #Bloomscrolling #DailyFlowers #vitaminN
November 25, 2025 at 7:39 AM
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My natural history book of the year is ‘Urban Plants’ by @trevorthebotanist.bsky.social
Informative, entertaining and inspiring - after reading it you will never walk down a street, pass by a wall or look at a grass verge in the same way again. Highly recommended @bsbibotany.bsky.social
November 24, 2025 at 7:30 PM
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The work of contemporary Northjmbrian printmaker Rebecca Vincent ##ReframingWomenPrintmakers
November 23, 2025 at 7:32 AM
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Look at those eyes! #flyday #bugskye #entomology #macro
November 21, 2025 at 4:51 PM
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Trekking by night reveals an enchanted forest: waking animals; wild music; and a special plant (Amorphophallus manta) that glows pink by torchlight. It's like walking in a dreamworld.
November 21, 2025 at 1:47 PM
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Earlier on the expedition we found the most beautiful flower, and here, my friends, is the biggest: Rafflesia arnoldi seen in full bloom today in the Sumatran jungle. This is the largest flower on earth and one of the greatest wonders of the natural world.
November 20, 2025 at 9:40 AM
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Repost by @Rainmaker1973 from @Rainmaker1973:
RT by @Rainmaker1973:
Green vine snakes don't bite.
They do better: they judge you.
November 19, 2025 at 1:02 PM
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we all just celebrate what we are buying local.
Post it on social media.
“I purchased this so and so from this local retailer.”
Boycotting the billionaires should be a celebration.
November 18, 2025 at 9:44 PM
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Postcard from the field from our wandering tour leader, Michele Viganò - Miki has been in the Western Sahara in the past week, and his first postcard shared with us is this gorgeous Sand Cat (Felis margarita). Stay tuned for more North Africa wildlife postcards from Miki this coming winter!
November 18, 2025 at 9:09 PM
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Deep in the Sumatran jungle today we found the extraordinary flowers of Rhizanthes pushing their fangs through the forest floor. A sap-sucking, leafless parasite, this is one of the world's weirdest plants.
November 16, 2025 at 2:48 PM
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Something lovely to start the week! 🐙🏺❤️

Ancient clay pots with octopus decoration, made by artisans from Bronze Age Crete some 3,500 years ago!

Heraklion Archaeological Museum 📷 by me

#Archaeology
November 17, 2025 at 11:04 AM
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Today in Sumatra we found forest ghost flowers (Aeginetia sp.). This leafless, parasitic plant has no need for sunlight and blossoms unseen in the very depths of the forest.
November 17, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by Helen McAra
Here’s what you won’t hear from some commentators on social media: in the year to October, London recorded 10,000 fewer violent crimes leading to injury than it did in the twelve months before I was elected.

More on the progress we’re making ⬇️ www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
'London is world's best city - people claiming it's lawless hate its success'
'The fact that London has again been crowned greatest city in the world disproves everything our critics claim, and they can’t stand it', the London Mayor Sadiq Khan writes
www.mirror.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 1:17 PM
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The first rule of communications is clarity 😉
November 16, 2025 at 12:22 PM
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Today we found something magical, deep in the wild green heart of Sumatra: Rafflesia kemumu in full bloom. One of the world's largest flowers, to see this extremely rare species in full bloom is truly special.
November 16, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Reposted by Helen McAra
If you’re feeling a bit sad it might help a little to know that this painting exists. It’s called Dynamism of a dog on a leash, by Giacomo Galla, 1912:
November 16, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Reposted by Helen McAra
There's something two-faced in Rhodes. I don't see it every year, but I keep my eyes open for it...

Occasionally Ophrys bee #orchids form lusus flowers, with aberrant petals and/or sepals. Here's Ophrys calypsus and O. polyxo, each with two lips fused on one flowerhead.
November 15, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Definitely sulphur tufts. Toxic enough to make you seriously unwell, not sure how they affect dogs but a phone call to your vet is advisable.
November 14, 2025 at 7:20 PM
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I will never get tired of trying to infinitely inch closer to hummingbirds

I have a few food spots around county where the birds simply ignore me and go about their business

I will watched this male over a period of 20 minutes as I repositioned my self closer and closer…

📷🌿🪶 Anna’s Hummingbird
November 14, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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This perfectly encapsulates why we need the BBC
November 13, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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Oh.
Left: Donald Trump’s Jan 6th quote, as presented in the dossier that brought down two BBC bosses

Right: What Donald Trump actually said.

Full story in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social: www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-e...
November 12, 2025 at 3:37 PM
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Nowhere in the hysterical pile-on against the BBC in the British press has anyone mentioned that BBC News now has 77 million viewers & listeners in the US and has established itself as the second most trusted news source there.
November 11, 2025 at 8:37 AM
This breaks my heart! I feel so ashamed of being English right now and that breaks my heart all over again. I feel like I’m having the country I love stolen from me by people who don’t understand the damage they are doing or simply prefer hatred over anything else. I’m weeping inside.
November 11, 2025 at 9:54 AM
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A fun encounter with a Yellow-flecked Glassfrog (Sachatamia albomaculata) last night at @tapirvalley.bsky.social #CostaRica

#frogs #amphibians #nature
November 10, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by Helen McAra
Delightful detail from the Roman “unswept floor” mosaic by Heraclitus, showing a mouse nibbling a walnut.

Superb use of darker tiles for subtle shadow effect!

2nd century AD. Vatican Museums www.museivaticani.va/content/muse...

#MosaicMonday
#Archaeology
November 10, 2025 at 1:07 PM