Each of UK nature lover Mick E. Talbot’s three sites (first here, and then here, and lastly here) is a delight. Here’s a sample of his unique writing and photos that he’s kindly contributed to us here at da-AL’s blog …

A Little About Me

Sticking to the little bit, as anything larger would constitute an autobiography, and if my memory serves me well they cost. So going back to when digital cameras became available to me, (some time in 2006), which meant I could take my interest in photographing wildlife into the realms of the affordable. Back in the analog days spending £50+ for a few hours enjoyment, and then the worry as to how many shots made the grade had me limiting myself until, yes, digital. A couple shots out of the many 10’s of thousands digital cameras allow.

The first is of ‘orange peel fungi’, the second, although a captive bred specimen, is found in the wild in Lake Malawi, East Africa. It is of a cichlid, namely, Melanochromis auratus, one of the many cichlid species found in the lake.

Moving on to 2007, this was quite an eventful year. Cutting a short “About Me” even shorter, I made my first big insect find during this year, which got me a mention in the British Entomological Journal. The bug, a tiny little leafhopper, was first discovered back in 2001 by a professor from the university of Sussex, my find, the second in the UK, wasn’t until the year I’m on now, (2007),  and some 200+ miles further north in my back yard, literally, in the City of Lincoln. Well pleased I was, oh, its name, Zyginella pulchra.

The third photo depicts the male Z. pulchra, showing the distinctive red v,  formed by the closed wings, the female is basically monotone from pale green to yellow.

A big jump to 2010, this was my biggest year in the field of entomology. I discovered a first for the UK and it was also the start of my disillusionment with the professionals involved with natural history. The species involved this time is Conostethus venustus, and as my claim was not accepted even to this day, (I hasten to add it was originally authenticated by the county recorder), has still not been resolved, so my disillusionment is to some extent on-going. I’ll end this one with an image, and a link to my page on flickr where Tim Ransom, himself a professional entomologist, gave me the link to another claim a year after mine, and as far as I am aware is the one that has been accepted as the first. The image below is that of Conostethus venustus.

Moving on to 2014, the year when I first signed up to WordPress. Never used it until 2016, and then it was on the rebound from disassociating myself from the professional naturalists fraternity. My first posts were still concerned with, and for nature. My Garden Biodiversity blog goes to show just how much I was still involved with the recording side. I still go out with my cameras, and should I find something I can’t find an ID for online, I will let the appropriate authority know.

Getting toward the end of 2016, I found I was being drawn to poetry. Now, I have always been into writing poems, for the lads to their girlfriends, whilst in the army, and being somewhat of a romantic, for my beloved. Micks Blog, is where I started to really let go and used it in a way I have never done before, as in trying to inspire folk to get more involved with caring for wildlife. More than that, I thought would be a bit OTT. However finding myself online more often than my normal 8 hours, I was becoming more and more aware that climate warming was for real. And the main cause was due to all manner of human pollutant’s, from *deforestation, the destruction of sensitive habitats, the use of fossil fuels, which in turn pollute the atmosphere and the oceans. You will find all my feelings on the topic of pollution, climate warming, along with my romantic side in my poetry on my blog, Mick E Talbots Poems.

Other folk’s blogs that inspire me, and there are many, to name some I must, yassy66, a genius of a poet, a definite must read. Whispering Whippets, Xenia a mistress of Japanese poetry, and her amazing photos of her two whippets Pearl and Eivor. Her photography is amazing and her haiku visionary. My hosts blog Happiness Between Tails, the truth, her video on Happy Persian New Year! a Toastmasters Speech, is as far as I have got, but I am working on it. If I haven’t named your blog, and I found inspiration in it, you know who you are, and I thank you, and long may you continue with your inspirational works.

*Deforestation, pollution of the oceans and the burning of fossil fuels are the main human contributing factors that are affecting the world’s climate. The production of CO2 by industries is now recognized as a major contribution, domestic production of the gas is also adding heavily to its depth, and therefore needs to be considered. Deforestation, unless totally forbidden, is hastening the end of the world as we know it. Forests remove CO2 and produce life-sustaining oxygen, as does all flora, the oceans are also a major producer of the gas we breathe. How long do governments think they can go on supporting businesses that are either in denial or have no understanding, or even no wish to help in the control of global warming? If the scientists are correct we have less than a thousand years to put nature back on its feet. A study has highlighted the risk posed by projected climate change on the world’s ability to grow enough food. A US team of researchers found that forecasted shifts in climate by 2070 would occur too quickly for species of grass to adapt to the new conditions. For governments to think that global warming is a conspiracy is scary, and to think one of those is that of the United States of America, is a nightmare.

© Mick E Talbot 2017/66