It seems a strange way to begin the story of a new ‘eco house’, with the tale of felling a tree. But in terms of construction, building out of wood is one of the best things you can do for storing and absorbing carbon, and I did hug this tree first… Read more
Workers at Angus Soft Fruits, mostly from Eastern Europe, gather strawberries from dawn on a farm by the sea. © Angus Blackburn, Scottish Field
Over the past year, in a series of columns published in Scottish Field, I have explored an ethical issue about a fruit or vegetable grown in Scotland every month. It has been a privilege to meet the farmers growing our food and I hope to go into more detail about some of the challenges of feeding the world without destroying the environment in my next book. If there is a subject you would like me to explore please post comments below. Read more
Aspen planted in 1.8m tubes by Loch Torridon.
Over the past year I have been involved in a project to plant 3,500 native trees on Ben Damph Estate in the Highlands of Scotland. It was a part of a Forestry Commission Scotland grant to improve woodland in an area previously infested with rhododendron ponticum. This blog is an attempt to exchange knowledge on the challenges of planting in a landscape shared with red deer and rhoddies, and a little bit of philosophy about the joys of planting trees…
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A pine marten looking for danger – and peanuts.
A few weeks ago I spent a very enjoyable evening in the hide at Aigas Field Centre, where BBC Springwatch is filmed, watching a pine marten happily munching peanuts – until a badger came along… Read more
This 8-pointer stag is in the height of the rut, roaring to demonstrate his willingness to fight for the chance to mate with the hinds.
If you have already read chapter 14 of The Ethical Carnivore, you will understand this is a little bit of a postscript… Read more
Tagging gannets on the Bass Rock.
I was lucky enough to visit the Bass Rock with Leeds University scientists to tag gannets. A short piece has already appeared in the Guardian Country Diary so I just wanted to add a few photos here and note my family connection to the island.
A roe deer skull I found on Glen Clova. The back of the antlers were black so I wonder if it was running from the muirburn? Or died before the heather was burnt off?
Preparing squirrel to a Nigella recipe.
In the latest update to The Ethical Carnivore project, I eat grey squirrel killed as part of a programme to protect the red population. Read more
Rabbit features in much of our childhood literature but it will also feature in the kill to eat diet.
I am often asked why I have not eaten more rabbit on this journey. The simple answer is that it takes time to learn to shoot a rabbit properly. There is also the Watership Down problem. Read more
Cod caught off the east coast of Scotland
During the winter months it was difficult to find something to eat, but there is plenty of life in the sea – or there was. Read more
