Driftwood. I love even the word itself. It embodies a volatile yet timeless relationship. A marriage in which one partner, Wood, is warm and compassionate, while the other, Water, is dynamic and restless. In my mind’s eye, I see Wood being gathered up by Water in the crest of a wave and flung on a windswept beach. Or bobbing in a tumbling, crystalline river before gently washing ashore. While Wood lies abandoned, exposed to the elements for days, weeks, even months, Water hea

Once upon a time, there was a young family who went to live in Africa. Their new home was in the middle of a National Park called North Luangwa, in Zambia. Their house was made of stone and thatch, fat geckos climbed the walls (and bit human fingers), and elephants visited the grounds. Other animals came and went freely; lions and leopards left their pug marks, black rhinos their clover leaf footprints, and guinea fowl their tracks, like treasure trail arrows. Beyond the camp

Last week's guest blog brought back bittersweet memories. Over the years, my family has had many memorable pets, from tiny toads to timid tarantulas, from a melanic boa constrictor to a praying mantis so lovely, with its elaborate frills of pale pink and apple green, it looked like an animated orchid. But perhaps the most memorable of our pets was a pair of chameleons. We were living at the time in Tanzania. If you went on a road trip, chances were good you would cross paths

This week I’ve got something extra fun for you, dear readers. I moderate a group called The Story of Nature on the writer site Scribophile. Every now and then we hold group contests and the theme of the most recent was ‘Animal Magic’. But with an added twist: entries had to make a reference to April Fool’s Day. We received some wonderful pieces, including the one below by the talented Anne Bradshaw. Anne is Writer Liaison for Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things. She kindly ga