Nighttime on Still Waters
@noswpod.bsky.social
Hello, I am Richard. I live on the narrowboat Erica, seeking to create something beautiful in a conflicted & fragmented world.
Advocate of hedge-wisdom.
#naturewriting #canals #wonder #podcast #rain #night #rooks #myth #stormydays
https://www.noswpod.com/
Advocate of hedge-wisdom.
#naturewriting #canals #wonder #podcast #rain #night #rooks #myth #stormydays
https://www.noswpod.com/
Pinned
Nighttime on Still Waters
This is the Narrowboat 'Erica' narrowcasting into the night from somewhere on Britain's canals and waterways.
A podcast that gently explores life afloat (and on la…
www.noswpod.com
Welcome! I am Richard and I live aboard the narrowboat 'Erica' where I host a canal-based podcast that celebrates nature, life in a complicated world, the elements, and the night-time.
Trying to create a small place of beauty and peace in a complicated world.
www.noswpod.com
"Why is it all so beautiful
This fake dream
This craziness
Why?"
Ikkyu
15th cent Zen master
#poetry #zen #commentary
This fake dream
This craziness
Why?"
Ikkyu
15th cent Zen master
#poetry #zen #commentary
January 29, 2026 at 9:35 PM
"Why is it all so beautiful
This fake dream
This craziness
Why?"
Ikkyu
15th cent Zen master
#poetry #zen #commentary
This fake dream
This craziness
Why?"
Ikkyu
15th cent Zen master
#poetry #zen #commentary
A beautiful but devastating video - Shifting Soundscapes Project with Alice Boyd.
One of the most important videos I have seen in a long while.
#fieldrecording #audio #ecology #nature #birds #conservation
youtube.com/watch?v=JGAc...
One of the most important videos I have seen in a long while.
#fieldrecording #audio #ecology #nature #birds #conservation
youtube.com/watch?v=JGAc...
I Revisited Three Soundscapes Recorded in 1975
YouTube video by Alice Boyd
youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:05 PM
A beautiful but devastating video - Shifting Soundscapes Project with Alice Boyd.
One of the most important videos I have seen in a long while.
#fieldrecording #audio #ecology #nature #birds #conservation
youtube.com/watch?v=JGAc...
One of the most important videos I have seen in a long while.
#fieldrecording #audio #ecology #nature #birds #conservation
youtube.com/watch?v=JGAc...
Tonight, we’re celebrating our 200th EPISODE(!) while enjoying our sixth winter aboard the NB Erica. To mark the occasion, I’m looking back at how the watery path of canal life has reshaped our lives, sometimes in unexpected ways.
#podcast #ukcanals #narrowboat
www.noswpod.com/sixth-winter/
#podcast #ukcanals #narrowboat
www.noswpod.com/sixth-winter/
The Sixth Winter - 200th Episode (Reflections on canal-life - 1)
Tonight, we’re celebrating our 200th episode while enjoying our sixth winter aboard the NB Erica. To mark the occasion, I’m looking back at how the watery path of c…
www.noswpod.com
January 25, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Tonight, we’re celebrating our 200th EPISODE(!) while enjoying our sixth winter aboard the NB Erica. To mark the occasion, I’m looking back at how the watery path of canal life has reshaped our lives, sometimes in unexpected ways.
#podcast #ukcanals #narrowboat
www.noswpod.com/sixth-winter/
#podcast #ukcanals #narrowboat
www.noswpod.com/sixth-winter/
I loved these and spent hours looking living inside the picture and exploring what's round the corner or behind the shop.
Maybe a sign of a misspent youth - however, it has made me second to none in spotting a pipe being smoked upside down or a pillar box without a slot in real life!
Maybe a sign of a misspent youth - however, it has made me second to none in spotting a pipe being smoked upside down or a pillar box without a slot in real life!
An observation test for your inner 8-year-old.
You’ll be doing well to spot 12 deliberate mistakes.
From Treasure magazine, 1963
Official answers coming soon
(Even if you don’t reply, could you please ‘like’ or share this one?)
You’ll be doing well to spot 12 deliberate mistakes.
From Treasure magazine, 1963
Official answers coming soon
(Even if you don’t reply, could you please ‘like’ or share this one?)
January 24, 2026 at 12:28 PM
I loved these and spent hours looking living inside the picture and exploring what's round the corner or behind the shop.
Maybe a sign of a misspent youth - however, it has made me second to none in spotting a pipe being smoked upside down or a pillar box without a slot in real life!
Maybe a sign of a misspent youth - however, it has made me second to none in spotting a pipe being smoked upside down or a pillar box without a slot in real life!
Clouds race low
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
January 20, 2026 at 8:36 AM
Clouds race low
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
On a south easterly wind
The sun struggles to find
Her footing on the day.
But the canal has already
Stolen some of her light
And tucks it close
To her chest.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry
Two strangers, both walking their separate paths, but, somehow, words reach across the gap.
Foggy, damp. Not so thick you can’t see, enough to mist and blur everything. I’m really out-of-love with this particular January. All things pass. Lives change. I’m already on the slow wind down, watching the pieces go missing, moving towards here and gone, drifting towards the silence.
January 18, 2026 at 8:43 AM
Two strangers, both walking their separate paths, but, somehow, words reach across the gap.
Maggie lies on the arm of the sofa
Her paw resting upon my chest
I gently stroke her arm
As her eyes slowly close.
It helps to quieten the ghost voices.
#poetry #dogs #MentalWellness
Her paw resting upon my chest
I gently stroke her arm
As her eyes slowly close.
It helps to quieten the ghost voices.
#poetry #dogs #MentalWellness
January 17, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Maggie lies on the arm of the sofa
Her paw resting upon my chest
I gently stroke her arm
As her eyes slowly close.
It helps to quieten the ghost voices.
#poetry #dogs #MentalWellness
Her paw resting upon my chest
I gently stroke her arm
As her eyes slowly close.
It helps to quieten the ghost voices.
#poetry #dogs #MentalWellness
Aaargh! We are out of control
pickingupducks.co.uk?p=6323
#saga #boatlife #waiting #beauty #calm #gratitude
pickingupducks.co.uk?p=6323
#saga #boatlife #waiting #beauty #calm #gratitude
Out of control
This has been a week of waiting. Waiting with anticipation and a little anxiety for a baby to arrive; waiting for the threatened rain and more flooding after things had begun to subside; waiting fo…
pickingupducks.co.uk
January 17, 2026 at 9:15 AM
The glass already broken
The leaf carried by the river
The cloud that is are not the sky
The moon behind the finger
A wordless koan.
A mantra (of sorts)
But enough
For the moment
To get me by.
#poetry #life #zen #journey #chaoticworld
The leaf carried by the river
The cloud that is are not the sky
The moon behind the finger
A wordless koan.
A mantra (of sorts)
But enough
For the moment
To get me by.
#poetry #life #zen #journey #chaoticworld
January 16, 2026 at 8:24 AM
The glass already broken
The leaf carried by the river
The cloud that is are not the sky
The moon behind the finger
A wordless koan.
A mantra (of sorts)
But enough
For the moment
To get me by.
#poetry #life #zen #journey #chaoticworld
The leaf carried by the river
The cloud that is are not the sky
The moon behind the finger
A wordless koan.
A mantra (of sorts)
But enough
For the moment
To get me by.
#poetry #life #zen #journey #chaoticworld
This morning,
The crescent moon
Said to me,
"Put away your camera,
And look at me
The way I am looking
At you.
In the dark,
Just the two
Of us
Sharing
This one
Unrepeatable
Moment."
#moon #poetry #naturewriting
The crescent moon
Said to me,
"Put away your camera,
And look at me
The way I am looking
At you.
In the dark,
Just the two
Of us
Sharing
This one
Unrepeatable
Moment."
#moon #poetry #naturewriting
January 14, 2026 at 11:37 AM
This morning,
The crescent moon
Said to me,
"Put away your camera,
And look at me
The way I am looking
At you.
In the dark,
Just the two
Of us
Sharing
This one
Unrepeatable
Moment."
#moon #poetry #naturewriting
The crescent moon
Said to me,
"Put away your camera,
And look at me
The way I am looking
At you.
In the dark,
Just the two
Of us
Sharing
This one
Unrepeatable
Moment."
#moon #poetry #naturewriting
After a week of ice
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
January 12, 2026 at 8:38 AM
After a week of ice
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
The flash of a kingfisher
Along the moorings.
The spark of hope
Is kingfisher blue.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #naturepoetry #hope #birds
#winter
This episode discusses the implications of the Whitchurch breach following a difficult year (2025) on the canal network for the future of life on the canal and the boating world.
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
Canal Life (Now and Future)
The failure of the Whitchurch embankment offered sobering viewing for those on and off the canal. This episode responds to listeners’ concerns and questions and the…
www.noswpod.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:16 PM
This episode discusses the implications of the Whitchurch breach following a difficult year (2025) on the canal network for the future of life on the canal and the boating world.
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
*Spoiler - it is not all doom and gloom!*
#ukcanals #podcast #boatlife #nature
www.noswpod.com/canal-life/
Old ice stretched
Tendon thin by winter sun
Swan feathers made of ice
#naturewriting #naturepoetry #winter #ice
Tendon thin by winter sun
Swan feathers made of ice
#naturewriting #naturepoetry #winter #ice
January 10, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Old ice stretched
Tendon thin by winter sun
Swan feathers made of ice
#naturewriting #naturepoetry #winter #ice
Tendon thin by winter sun
Swan feathers made of ice
#naturewriting #naturepoetry #winter #ice
I had never realised this before. Wonderful!
What looks like snow on this thoughtful beauty is "powder down" feathers. Special feathers that break into a dust similar to talcum powder.
This powder is used by the Heron to clean its feathers of grime, gloop and the remains of its dinner.
This powder is used by the Heron to clean its feathers of grime, gloop and the remains of its dinner.
a public announcement pointed to you by Great Blue Heron at Central Park lake🪶
#birds
#birds
January 8, 2026 at 8:04 AM
I had never realised this before. Wonderful!
The One Oak is shrouded
In dense mist that drifts
Across the torchlight beam.
1/4in of water lies
On the thinning skim of ice
Slow attrition of warmth.
Few nights back, a walker
Left a field gate open.
Word of a dead ewe
Spotted in the canal.
Thoughtless act: Needless death.
#naturewriting #winter
In dense mist that drifts
Across the torchlight beam.
1/4in of water lies
On the thinning skim of ice
Slow attrition of warmth.
Few nights back, a walker
Left a field gate open.
Word of a dead ewe
Spotted in the canal.
Thoughtless act: Needless death.
#naturewriting #winter
January 8, 2026 at 7:57 AM
The One Oak is shrouded
In dense mist that drifts
Across the torchlight beam.
1/4in of water lies
On the thinning skim of ice
Slow attrition of warmth.
Few nights back, a walker
Left a field gate open.
Word of a dead ewe
Spotted in the canal.
Thoughtless act: Needless death.
#naturewriting #winter
In dense mist that drifts
Across the torchlight beam.
1/4in of water lies
On the thinning skim of ice
Slow attrition of warmth.
Few nights back, a walker
Left a field gate open.
Word of a dead ewe
Spotted in the canal.
Thoughtless act: Needless death.
#naturewriting #winter
No ice song this time,
Just bangs and booms
As the Erica fidgets
Against the ice sheet.
Last night's rain
Puddles the sun dimpled surface.
The ground is still hard
And the canal is still unyielding,
Held fast in ice.
But its grip is loosening.
#naturewriting #ukcanals ##naturepoetry #winter #ice
Just bangs and booms
As the Erica fidgets
Against the ice sheet.
Last night's rain
Puddles the sun dimpled surface.
The ground is still hard
And the canal is still unyielding,
Held fast in ice.
But its grip is loosening.
#naturewriting #ukcanals ##naturepoetry #winter #ice
January 7, 2026 at 8:19 AM
No ice song this time,
Just bangs and booms
As the Erica fidgets
Against the ice sheet.
Last night's rain
Puddles the sun dimpled surface.
The ground is still hard
And the canal is still unyielding,
Held fast in ice.
But its grip is loosening.
#naturewriting #ukcanals ##naturepoetry #winter #ice
Just bangs and booms
As the Erica fidgets
Against the ice sheet.
Last night's rain
Puddles the sun dimpled surface.
The ground is still hard
And the canal is still unyielding,
Held fast in ice.
But its grip is loosening.
#naturewriting #ukcanals ##naturepoetry #winter #ice
Colder night,
But slightly milder dawn
A few desultory snowflakes fall
Flightless feathers
With no wind
Upon which to dance
Will these small flakes
Ever get the chance
To find the sea?
#naturewriting #snow #winter #poetry #naturepoetry
But slightly milder dawn
A few desultory snowflakes fall
Flightless feathers
With no wind
Upon which to dance
Will these small flakes
Ever get the chance
To find the sea?
#naturewriting #snow #winter #poetry #naturepoetry
January 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Colder night,
But slightly milder dawn
A few desultory snowflakes fall
Flightless feathers
With no wind
Upon which to dance
Will these small flakes
Ever get the chance
To find the sea?
#naturewriting #snow #winter #poetry #naturepoetry
But slightly milder dawn
A few desultory snowflakes fall
Flightless feathers
With no wind
Upon which to dance
Will these small flakes
Ever get the chance
To find the sea?
#naturewriting #snow #winter #poetry #naturepoetry
A thin scraping of snow
Dusts the surface of the canal
Marking the tracks
Of a cat's night-time traverse.
Further along,
Two crows alight
Centre stream.
They stand together
And silently survey the world
From an unfamiliar perspective.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #snow #poetry
Dusts the surface of the canal
Marking the tracks
Of a cat's night-time traverse.
Further along,
Two crows alight
Centre stream.
They stand together
And silently survey the world
From an unfamiliar perspective.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #snow #poetry
January 5, 2026 at 8:56 AM
A thin scraping of snow
Dusts the surface of the canal
Marking the tracks
Of a cat's night-time traverse.
Further along,
Two crows alight
Centre stream.
They stand together
And silently survey the world
From an unfamiliar perspective.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #snow #poetry
Dusts the surface of the canal
Marking the tracks
Of a cat's night-time traverse.
Further along,
Two crows alight
Centre stream.
They stand together
And silently survey the world
From an unfamiliar perspective.
#naturewriting #ukcanals #snow #poetry
-7° local temp. The grip tightens. The ice extends its hold. Yesterday, a couple of boats crashed through. The gap of passage closes. Splintered shards weld to old ice. The bridge-holes and woody sections now lie frozen. Only the bywash runs. Kingfishers' suffering begins.
#ukcanals #naturewriting
#ukcanals #naturewriting
January 4, 2026 at 9:31 AM
-7° local temp. The grip tightens. The ice extends its hold. Yesterday, a couple of boats crashed through. The gap of passage closes. Splintered shards weld to old ice. The bridge-holes and woody sections now lie frozen. Only the bywash runs. Kingfishers' suffering begins.
#ukcanals #naturewriting
#ukcanals #naturewriting
When your journey through the landscape writes its own poems...
Bowland wildness hike, rock formations, vast perspectives, evocative place names …
Pike Side to Cat Knott Well onto Brennand Grit of Knotteranun and Bowland Knotts,
Raven’s Castle via Copy Nook, Cold Stone,
Crowd Stones to Cross of Greet.
Hodder.
💚 #place #dailynature #naturewriting 01/01
Pike Side to Cat Knott Well onto Brennand Grit of Knotteranun and Bowland Knotts,
Raven’s Castle via Copy Nook, Cold Stone,
Crowd Stones to Cross of Greet.
Hodder.
💚 #place #dailynature #naturewriting 01/01
January 2, 2026 at 9:07 AM
When your journey through the landscape writes its own poems...
Without sign or sound
The world slips passed
The arbitrary lines
We invest so deeply in;
The cradling of
The fragility of our tears
The sparks of hope,
And all our brittle fears.
Unnoticed, save for
The quickening in the bud
The push new stem
The incremental return of light.
#DailyNature #newyear
The world slips passed
The arbitrary lines
We invest so deeply in;
The cradling of
The fragility of our tears
The sparks of hope,
And all our brittle fears.
Unnoticed, save for
The quickening in the bud
The push new stem
The incremental return of light.
#DailyNature #newyear
January 1, 2026 at 9:44 AM
Without sign or sound
The world slips passed
The arbitrary lines
We invest so deeply in;
The cradling of
The fragility of our tears
The sparks of hope,
And all our brittle fears.
Unnoticed, save for
The quickening in the bud
The push new stem
The incremental return of light.
#DailyNature #newyear
The world slips passed
The arbitrary lines
We invest so deeply in;
The cradling of
The fragility of our tears
The sparks of hope,
And all our brittle fears.
Unnoticed, save for
The quickening in the bud
The push new stem
The incremental return of light.
#DailyNature #newyear
#Day31
The year ends
With frost-ferns
On the window panes
And the gold
Of fallen leaves
Picked out in silver.
Ice stretches
Along the canal,
Unfrozen patches
Are busy with ducks.
The mud is hard
And holds my weight.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter #naturewriting
The year ends
With frost-ferns
On the window panes
And the gold
Of fallen leaves
Picked out in silver.
Ice stretches
Along the canal,
Unfrozen patches
Are busy with ducks.
The mud is hard
And holds my weight.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter #naturewriting
December 31, 2025 at 9:27 AM
#Day31
The year ends
With frost-ferns
On the window panes
And the gold
Of fallen leaves
Picked out in silver.
Ice stretches
Along the canal,
Unfrozen patches
Are busy with ducks.
The mud is hard
And holds my weight.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter #naturewriting
The year ends
With frost-ferns
On the window panes
And the gold
Of fallen leaves
Picked out in silver.
Ice stretches
Along the canal,
Unfrozen patches
Are busy with ducks.
The mud is hard
And holds my weight.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter #naturewriting
#Day30
The windy winding path
Of December is drawing
To an end.
A new path beckons
That promises colder winds
And keener days.
My travelling companions
Seem well able to cope.
They preen and chatter.
I am glad that they are there
We face our futures together.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter
The windy winding path
Of December is drawing
To an end.
A new path beckons
That promises colder winds
And keener days.
My travelling companions
Seem well able to cope.
They preen and chatter.
I am glad that they are there
We face our futures together.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter
December 30, 2025 at 9:38 AM
#Day30
The windy winding path
Of December is drawing
To an end.
A new path beckons
That promises colder winds
And keener days.
My travelling companions
Seem well able to cope.
They preen and chatter.
I am glad that they are there
We face our futures together.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter
The windy winding path
Of December is drawing
To an end.
A new path beckons
That promises colder winds
And keener days.
My travelling companions
Seem well able to cope.
They preen and chatter.
I am glad that they are there
We face our futures together.
#DailyNature #ukcanals #poetry #winter
#Day29
Maggie decided she didn't want her morning walk. So, I have a fresh brewed tea. We sit together on the sofa. I watch the oak's topmost branches sway, constantly moving. I feel the mug's warmth in my hand. Two cormorants fly past. The blank white sky is indescribably beautiful.
#DailyNature
Maggie decided she didn't want her morning walk. So, I have a fresh brewed tea. We sit together on the sofa. I watch the oak's topmost branches sway, constantly moving. I feel the mug's warmth in my hand. Two cormorants fly past. The blank white sky is indescribably beautiful.
#DailyNature
December 29, 2025 at 9:14 AM
#Day29
Maggie decided she didn't want her morning walk. So, I have a fresh brewed tea. We sit together on the sofa. I watch the oak's topmost branches sway, constantly moving. I feel the mug's warmth in my hand. Two cormorants fly past. The blank white sky is indescribably beautiful.
#DailyNature
Maggie decided she didn't want her morning walk. So, I have a fresh brewed tea. We sit together on the sofa. I watch the oak's topmost branches sway, constantly moving. I feel the mug's warmth in my hand. Two cormorants fly past. The blank white sky is indescribably beautiful.
#DailyNature