Stephen Lowe Watson

Just in case anyone needed an excuse... www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...

Funded by local Lewes people and businesses, this project delivers ambulances to Ukraine, personally delivered by volunteers who drive them across Europe. www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...

"The solar panel is the new peace symbol." ☀️💛 @billmckibben.bsky.social in his latest brilliant substack, The Crucial Years: billmckibben.substack.com/p/are-the-pe...

Through-the-window snap of an adult male great spotted woodpecker that livened up breakfast by visiting the garden this morning #birds

Just checking out the adverts at Piccadilly Circus… 👀 Not sure they’re buying into the marketing though! 🐦 How brilliant is this mini metropolitan murmuration captured by James Franks (@jfranks_photoweb on instagram) at Piccadilly Circus? 🤩 Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic shot with us!

"Our models took actions we did not intend" could be an epitaph. Ideally the epitaph of the AI industry, not of humanity.

We're ever so proud of our Wilfrid

Anger and grief at suspected arboricide unites Korean community."It was the only tree in the neighbourhood that belongs to everyone ... the campaign to keep it alive has brought the people of Buam-dong closer together." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ivy flowers are opening and it's literally buzzing with bees - ivy bees and honey bees, I think

Following the good news that the Rights of our Trees motion was approved by Lewes Town Council last night, here is a celebratory decorated version of the Tree Charter for Lewes. It was designed by the talented Lynda Durrant, fullcircle-design.co.uk

One of two pairs of Willow Emerald Damselflies in the garden this afternoon. Six individuals seen at once. Sawston, Cambs. @britishdragonflies.bsky.social

I suspect these replacements for the old-style formal bedding on Eastbourne sea front will be great for birds, as well as being low maintenance and sustainable. I like it! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme from @helenbennett.bsky.social is #BirdsInAbstract A collared dove perches at the centre of our local web

Hey @ericlipton.nytimes.com 👋 AI is not “evolving” on its own. *People* are choosing how to build it. *People* are choosing how to train it. *People* are choosing how to run it. Maybe the problem is that they are the *wrong people* to make these choices.

Large scale rewilding in Northumbria sounds an interesting project, but surprised to hear about it from a Google link to the Times of India. share.google/vfPfBJmpXYFJ...

I didn't mean to turn this into a thread, but the issue has got me properly triggered (again). Read on for how this approach has been embedded in every aspect of government, who has driven the process and how it works.

The war poet Siegfried Sassoon died #OTD 1967. His poem 'At The Cenotaph' begins: 'I saw the Prince of Darkness, with his staff, Standing bare-headed by the Cenotaph...' You can read the full poem in the alt text to the photo, which is of the War memorial at Polstead, Suffolk.

Our garden sparrows have been having quite a party, gorging on pyracantha berries #BirdsUpClose #BirdOfTheDay #Birds

South Downs sunrise

A couple of shots of this morning's partial lunar eclipse, just before dawn

In honor of the death of eternal legend Dolly Parton, here’s her 2023 #ClimateChange anthem “World on Fire.” “Liar, liar, the world’s on fire / What’cha gonna do when it all burns down … Still got time to turn it all around.” 😭💚🙏 m.youtube.com/watch?v=0QJX...

Weirdly, @bsky.app this morning showed 30+ notifications on the bell, but there were none.

A song for navy sailors longing to get home, on the Abraham Lincoln or any other ship. @thelongestjohns.bsky.social sing Cyril Tawney's Grey Funnel Line youtu.be/P7TuLmyWA5k?...

Introduce yourself as what almost killed you. It's 2nd Jan 1976. I'm the wood & asbestos roof of a piggery blowing in a hurricane force gale across a field towards a road. I strike a family car side on, smash the windscreen, dent the doors but manage to miss coming in through the side windows.

A comparison of binoculars versus a cullender for partial eclipse viewing.

Lewes Castle photographed during this evening's partial solar eclipse. You can just about see the people eclipse-watching at the top of Mount Caburn behind it. #Sussex #SouthDowns

A little mist drapes the Ashdown Forest ridges in the Sussex Weald at dawn

The old moon rose before sunrise this morning. Taken from the parched South Downs above Lewes looking towards Ashdown Forest. A late bat was still flitting around.

Rhapsody in Blue: a Holly Blue butterfly feeding on borage. The bees kept buzzing it away but it persisted. We watched it land on top of the flower and then climb round to the underneath to get the nectar. Photos: Zoë Watson @savebutterflies.bsky.social @sussexwildlife.bsky.social

Home grown tomato season is reaching its peak #gardening

The 'Cock Linnet Song' (Don't Dilly Dally on the Way), made famous by Marie Lloyd whose poster we've adapted. We're in pearly costumes Zoë made for the Lewes Bonfire celebrations, paying homage to the cockney Pearly Kings and Queens. #MusicHall @musichallsociety.bsky.social youtu.be/llDIT7cFdh8

The caw of a crow is a 'harmonic stack', apparently. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Now reading: King Arthur's Place in Prehistory by W. A. Cummins (1992). His thesis: Arthur & Merlin were folk memories of a Bronze Age king and his architect, responsible for the final phase of Stonehenge. #books #legends #archeology #prehistory

Up at 5am to admire sunrise over the Sussex weald before watering the allotment, harvesting courgettes and picking blackberries for breakfast in the cool of the day

Stealing from a supermarket will not materially influence their revenue, but I don't think that argument would stand up in court. Every little hurts. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I imagine that Tom Paine would have some pithy things to say about the present US administration. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Met Office sticking their heads above the parapet youtu.be/YXwk3Eqa8l8?...

Our kids played on Newhaven West Beach when they were tiny - then the privatized port closed it to avoid having to fix the crumbling wall and steps. The only sandy beach in the area has been frustratingly out of bounds since 2008. c.org/PBhLJYYGH2

Ev'rybody slips a little, now and then… there's a stumbling step in the best of us, that should keep us from blaming the rest of us. So be very, very careful when you condemn…

Sunrise over the Sussex Weald this morning, looking northeast from Landport Bottom, Lewes @southdownsnp.bsky.social @southdownsfans.bsky.social

Today is #ShowYourStripes day - a day to show your climate stripes to raise awareness. These are for Brighton, the nearest available to use here in Lewes. You can get your stripes here: showyourstripes.info

I never had the privilege of meeting this grand old tree, but I mourn its passing.

Told to expect a parcel delivery between 13.18 and 14.18. Is there a word for overly precise imprecision?

A male Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) for #WorldEnvironmentDay

DECAY Most humans shy away from it; ecologists understand its importance; for mycologists/bacteriologist it's the lifeblood of their passions. That last irony apart, decay is not just fascinating, it's vital 2 all life. It is the most important step in any food chain! Without decay of 🧵 1/14

@metoffice.gov.uk Would you like to comment on possible implications of for UK weather?

It’s the weekend, and a bear is preparing its resting place and enjoying a well-deserved siesta. Wishing you a wonderful weekend!