In today's post, I want to talk about the people that have changed my life, particularly as it relates to nature and wildlife (appropriate, since this is, for all intents and purposes, a nature and wildlife blog).
And, as I write this blog - and hopefully, you read it - let's all be thankful that I found inspiration in the naturalists of this world, rather than the naturists. Much better that I use this platform to share words and pictures about my love for nature and wildlife, rather than that lifestyle choice.
Each to their own but, trust me, nobody would want to hear from me if this were a naturist blog!
And now, now that I've had my fun with words, let us begin . . .
The people that have changed my life
Firstly, and foremost, I should thank my parents, for raising me in the countryside. It is there that I was introduced to nature and wildlife.
From the windows of the house in which I grew up, the house where my parents still live, I saw all sorts of animals that captured and intrigued me. That fascinated me. There were hedgehogs, deer, foxes, house martins, and many others.
To this day, I can still see and hear animals of different kinds from the windows when I visit my parents' house. The last time I was there, for the festive season, I stopped still for a moment when I heard the call of a tawny owl coming over the fields.
I am very lucky that I got to grow up in a small village, and that I could look out over fields towards a river from the upstairs windows. I am very lucky indeed.
I have always been a tad more introverted than I am extroverted, and I hardly ran with a large crowd when I was younger. And today my crowd is even smaller. But I am quite happy pottering along countryside paths. Whether they are baked hard and dusty in the summer time, or making me work hard to navigate their sucking and sloppy churned up mud in the winter, I am happy on those paths.
Away from those paths, for education and inspiration, I turn to the nature and wildlife writers and television presenters. The reason I chose the image with which I opened this post is that those two presenters, Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan, have figured in my love for the natural world since I was very young.
Chris Packham began presenting The Really Wild Show in 1986, the year after I was born. And, when I was eight years old, Michaela Strachan joined the programme. Today I find myself watching them still, on The Watches, on the BBC (Springwatch, Autumnwatch, and Winterwatch). Their chemistry, and passion for their subject, has inspired me, and their work has educated me since my childhood.
For more on these two presenters (and others involved with The Watches), you might want to visit another blog post, here, which takes a little look at this year's Winterwatch series.
Sir David Attenborough. Image sourced form bbc.co.uk
I could, of course, have opened this post with the above image. And when one discusses naturalist television presenters, you cannot close that discussion without mentioning Sir Attenborough.
His voice is synonymous with the natural history documentary. And perhaps he was always meant to be a natural historian, having spent much of his boyhood outdoors, collecting fossils and other natural specimens. There is still innocent wonder in his face and voice, caught on film for us to see, when he explores the wonders of the natural world.
Recently in his career, he has been more overt in his passion for conservation and environmental causes, driven partly by having spent his life in natural history, and having been witness to some of its destruction and loss himself.
Of course, the documentary films I, and many others enjoy, would not be possible without the filmmakers and everyone else behind the cameras. These people too changed my life for the better. Many of the Attenborough documentaries I enjoy feature an epilogue at the close, taking a little look at how footage is captured and the challenges that are faced by the people behind the cameras.
I've much respect and appreciation for the nature and wildlife filmmakers.
Losing Eden by Lucy Jones. Photo from personal collection.
And where would the keen naturalist be without the nature and wildlife writers? Those who go out into the world, investigating and gathering information, passing their finds on to us?
I've reference pocketbooks purchased from the RSPB online shop, to help me identify flowers and birds that I might spot when I'm out rambling. There are investigative books, like Lucy Jones' Foxes Unearthed, on my shelves. And then there are the poets, like Wordsworth, whose works were inspired by nature, and who, in turn, created works that inspire. My love for nature is, like the books lining my shelves, is driven by something romantic and poetic, but also a fascination for the facts and science.
The people that really changed my life, that nurtured a love for nature and wildlife, and educated me too, were these broadcasters and writers. When I come indoors, it is to them I turn still, looking for guidance and education.
And let us all be thankful I never got confused along the way, and confused my love for naturalists with a love for naturists, or this might be a very different blog! One that nobody should ever wish to read!
Thank you for reading. You can support this blog and my writing with a coffee from ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me immersed in natural history writing and documentaries, before returning to the keyboard to tap. tap, tap at the keys! Thank you to all supporters!
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