Suzy Barker

Greetings! I’m passionate about the natural world we inhabit; the written word; and photography. Oh, and I should mention – I’m an eternal optimist. My cup is always half full.

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October 20, 2018October 20, 2018 Suzy Barker

Alf on the lookout in his kennel

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Daimler Barker Sports Special 1952 . . . #daimler #barker #sportsspecial #1952 #asundaycarpic #woodhallspa #woodhallspacountryshow #sundays #familytime #agooddayout #countryliving #lincolnshire #lovelincolnshire #countrylife #countryfair

"Curl Up And Dye" - Would you go into a salon called this to get your hair done? 😂😂 . . . #curlupanddye #hairsalon #imaginative #goodwithwords #hairdressers

Turns out that Oatly, my favourite plant-based milk, is not gluten-free here in the UK. I love the taste and texture of it; it's great on cereal and in coffee. And it's one of the most environmentally-friendly plant-based milks you can buy. However, a poorly tummy this week could only mean one thing for me - I'd inadvertently consumed gluten. Checking online, I found that Oatly make this milk using ordinary oats to keep the cost down. They make a gluten-free version in the US but not for the European market. The packaging, however, does not say that it contains gluten. So I decided to make my own gluten-free oat milk and it turned out really well. If you're a fan of oat milk, gluten-free or not, it's so easy to make your own. You will need: 1 cup gluten-free oats 3 cups cold water 2 tbsp of avocado or walnut oil (optional) Put in a blender and whizz up for 30 seconds. Pour through a very fine sieve or cheesecloth fabric and then store in a jar in the fridge. The remaining oatmeal in the sieve can be used in baking or to make porridge to prevent wasting it. You can also add flavoured syrup, sugar or anything else that takes your fancy. NB. Some recipes recommend that you soak the oats in water for 3 hours beforehand, then rinse them before making the milk with 3 cups of fresh water. #oatmilk #oatly #gluten #glutenfree #plantbased #healthyfood #plantbasedmilk #goodfortheplanet #environmentallyfriendly #ivebeenglutened #makeyourown #littlestoriesofmylife #itsthelittlethings #foodisfuel

Cornflowers growing on the grassy verge of a country lane in Lincolnshire. . . Before so many exotics began to flood into English gardens, the cornflower was much cultivated. Cornflowers were actually found in Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt; amazingly, despite being over 3,000 years old they had lost very little of their colour. The French wear cornflowers much like the British wear poppies - as a symbol of remembrance. It is known as the "Bleuet de France" - cornflowers are the national flower of France, Germany, Estonia, Belarus and the Czech Republic. The cornflower was once upon a time an iconic image of rural meadows, and a common sight in cornfields, but it has declined dramatically in the wild in the last 60 years. Fields full of cornflowers were last seen in Britain between the wars. Growing up in the 1960's my family used to pick handfuls of wild cornflowers in the fields of my grandparents' farm, along with cowslips, buttercups, ox-eye daisies, cuckoo flowers, campion and many others, to decorate our home. Herbicides and fertilisers were never used on the farm; everything was left to grow naturally, for hay and for grazing. Sadly, the cornflower owes its decline to modern agricultural practices - increased use of herbicides and fertilisers, the development of highly competitive crop varieties, the destruction of field-edges, the demise of traditional crop rotations, and improved seed-corn cleaning. These factors continue to be a threat to the future of the cornflower and many other traditional wildflowers, and illustrate what has happened to many of our wildflower species over the last 60 years. #cornflowers #wildflowers #lincolnshire #love_rural #inspiredbynature #countrylife #natureisamazing #lovegreatbritain #lovelincolnshire #yourcountryside #englishspringtime #countryliving #englishcountryside #be_one_rural #trb_rural #capturingbritain_rural #picturetokeep_rural #country_features

Does anyone know what this fungi is please? Found on a chestnut tree in the woods. My knowledge of fungi is limited to field mushrooms for breakfast! . . #fungi #chestnuttree #horsechestnut #treefungi

Nothing to see here - Dawn chorus at 05.15 this morning in my little haven of the UK .... International Dawn Chorus Day is on the first Sunday in May each year. It began in the 1980’s when broadcaster and environmentalist, Chris Baines, asked everyone to attend his birthday party at 4am so they could enjoy the dawn chorus with him. There are now Dawn Chorus events held all over the world every year for people to enjoy the experience. With the number of songbirds down by 55% since the early 1970’s our dawn chorus is becoming fainter and less vibrant. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) currently lists 67 species on their “red list” of globally threatened species in severe decline. Among those most at risk are corncrakes, turtle doves, cuckoos, skylarks and nightingales. The RSPB says Britain has lost 40 million, yes 40 million, birds since 1966, but a recent YouGov survey found that only 15% of people in the UK believed nature was in crisis and more than a quarter thought nature was doing well! Martin Harper, the RSPB’s director of conservation said – “The signs are all around us that something is not right, that nature’s falling silent and you only need to stop and listen to find the beautiful birdsong that should be the background music to our life is absent. “Wildlife and our natural world can recover, it can be saved for future generations, but we need more people to talk about the issue … “Because if we do not start talking about the threats facing nature, the inspiration behind so much of our music, poetry and literature may go silent.” The RSPB released a charity song on 24 April 2019 to highlight Britain’s declining bird numbers. “Let Nature Sing” is beautiful and features the song of 25 different threatened and endangered UK birds. The song has reached #11 in the music charts in time for International Dawn Chorus Day on 5 May. Here’s the link to listen to some of it - https://youtu.be/Ge-cYtK8QwI . . . . #birdsong #dawnchorus #internationaldawnchorusday #ukbirds #songbirds #rspb #letnaturesing #endangeredUKbirds #rspbredlist #nature #birds #environmental #thereisnoplanetb #protectourwildlife #climatechangeisreal #lovenature

Had the beach entirely to ourselves tonight. Not surprising really as the heavens opened and the cold rain stung our faces, but then that's English spring time for you - unpredictable! #thegreatoutdoors #lincolnshire #seaside #beachwalking #englishspringtime #aprilshowersinmay

Messy eaters ... So in our quest to achieve zero food waste in our house we chop and cook all vegetable peelings and stalks and serve them to our chickens as a tasty meal. We found they wouldn't eat raw veg so cooking it for 10 mins is a solution. Seems like a good method of recycling to me - food waste into golden yolked eggs. Our chickens eat less pellets too so it saves a little on chicken feed. . . . #recycling #zerofoodwaste #chickens #hens #freerangechickens #freerangeeggs #vegetables #messyeaters #pasturedpoultry #healthyfood #eggs #countryliving #countrylife #ruraluk #lincolnshire #country_features #be_one_rural #potatoes #cauliflower #carrots

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Alf on the lookout in his kennel

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