iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Yes very sad, though nice to know they are out there. Such a poorly known species.

Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

But it’s a useful word to describe an approach to conservation that allows nature a freer hand, with a lower intensity of direct human intervention. If you ditch this word then we’ll need another one to describe this approach. The usual people will hate the new word too!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It’s a useful term despite the fact that, as with any other word in conservation, we can all argue all day about its precise meaning. Here we are now arguing about what ‘management’ means. And yes, it’s not the word that‘s the problem (for some people) but the ideas behind it.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I think we’re arguing about the words we might use then, rather than what actually happens on the ground. I’d say you can have more or less intensive *management* and aspiring to the latter (in some places) is a good thing for wildlife.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

BSE and whale carcasses. Just a taste of the many joys of Galloway.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

There is plenty wild about it though, of course, it‘s far from natural. Seems reasonable enough to aspire to have places that are wilder, where nature has a freer hand, alongside all the existing places where humans are so firmly in control. It’s not either one or the other.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

We have one of these in the bay at the moment. A Sowerby’s Beaked Whale. A new one for me, more like a large dolphin than a typical whale, slim, with that distinctive long beak and dark patches around the eyes. Post-mortem being carried out today apparently. (The lone ‘tooth’ is a periwinkle!)

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

The human is on the path I always use. How am I supposed to get back to the wood?

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James Gilbert @jamesgilbertmr.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Recently read this—a fine book exploring our attitudes to nature. An excellent, engaging read—informative, honest & balanced. Had myself wishing Ian lived near to me; regularly over a coffee, we could cheer & console each other on the state of British wildlife & wild places. @iancarter67.bsky.social

Front cover of the book “Human, Nature” by Ian Carter.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Thanks so much James. It means a lot to hear the book resonates with someone who thinks so much (and so deeply) about wildlife. If you are ever up in Galloway then do look us up and we can have that chat!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Looks like it. We have had our share of sun recently!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Evidence of breeding, finally! They nest in a little roof space of the house above the downstairs toilet. You can hear them shuffling around above when paying a visit.

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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Sunday book review: A Galloway Year by @iancarter67.bsky.social & Karen Menarry Publisher: Whittles Review: markavery.info/2026/06/28/s... 'A celebration of Galloway through tales of interesting walks with wildlife and gorgeous illustrations of the landscape' #Galloway #wildlife

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kevguttridge.bsky.social @kevguttridge.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

My weekend reading arrived today A Galloway year by @iancarter67.bsky.social 😁 #wildlifebook

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Steve Hill @stevehill.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

@iancarter67.bsky.social having read Ian’s Wild Galloway, & two of his birds books, I am looking forward to reading this. Thanks to indie bookshop Sherlock & Pages for getting it for me.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

This one (on the right) is out next month and currently working on a book about Costa Rica which is a little bit different. Good fun though!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Yes, in the Galloway hills. Named because the hills look like the fingers of a hand. Much blighted by non-native conifers but still some impressive open moorland too.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Thanks Gordon, really pleased to hear that you enjoyed it. A Galloway Year should be out in June with more about Galloway’s wildlife and landscapes, exploring further afield than the confines of our glen.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

Hi Steve, I’m not sure. Online it’s already available to pre order but not sure how that works with bookshops. I would have thought they could do the same. It’s due out on 10 June. Yes, battening down the hatches for tomorrow night!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

I’m reading these two at the same time. Polar opposites in their approach to nature, both approaches having considerable merit as is so well argued in the respective books. I think I’m more JC than GL in outlook but both are brilliant, thought-provoking books.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

After two years working on Wild Galloway (a solo project) it has been a real pleasure to join forces with Karen for our new book (coming soon). Her magical prints capture the varied landscapes of Galloway so perfectly. Writing about the wildlife these places support has been a year very well spent.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Yes, sort of. It’s along similar lines though wider ranging across Galloway rather than focussed on our local glen. And with Karen’s superb prints and her notes on what drew her to each of them.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

A sneak preview, and not necessarily the final cover. But a fantastic project to work on over the last year or so. Coming soon!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Another one for the extensive collection @ruthtingay.bsky.social. A brace of shot Pheasants, tied at the neck and given to a shooter. Only to be wrapped in plastic and hurled into the nearest river before washing up here on a remote Solway beach. They are bred as living targets rather than as food.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Little clusters of 11-spot Ladybirds all along this exposed metal fence in Oxfordshire. Seems an odd place to overwinter with so little shelter. Attracting the attention of walkers on the footpath as the cars roared by.

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Kerrie Ann Gardner @kerriedoodles.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Day sixteen of #ArtAdventCalendar. Here’s a soft pastel painting of my local river in the depths of winter.

A soft pastel painting of a river overhung by many spindly trees in winter. The sky is grey, the water is silver and the trees are brown, some of them delicately lined with verdant green moss.

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Nicola Chester @nicolawriting.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Well, this is quite extraordinary! Lovely Ian being so kind & generous about my book, but also, what a connection! Reunited with the memory of a dear, much-loved pony, in the galloped woods above Reading…

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

@nicolawriting.bsky.social has written a wonderful, stirring book, weaving together her knowledge of the landscape with those who have come before - the ghosts that haunt her local walks. I met a ghost too. My sister’s old horse Padjo gets an unexpected mention! Here he is over 40 years ago.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

All with the tops on too, which means they float and so are more easily washed up. So these people take the trouble to screw the top back on, and only then chuck the bottle away?

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

The usual assortment of litter on the tideline and, ironically enough, an intact plastic litter bin washed up by the recent high tides. (Lucozade the most common plastic bottle on the beach, as it almost always is -- why is that?)

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Kerrie Ann Gardner @kerriedoodles.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Day fourteen of #ArtAdventCalendar Here’s a rook, painted with black ink. Unfinished as yet.

A painting of a rook in black ink. The bird is flying from the right to the left with its wings up and its feet lifted and pointing forwards, as if it is coming in to land.

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Mark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Ian - many thanks! Nice shelves!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Britain’s best and worst songsters in the same recording. Compare and contrast!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Thanks Steve, hope you get on okay with it. In many ways it was a bit more of a depressing book to write than the Red Kite. A very different story to tell.

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Steve Hill @stevehill.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I enjoyed @iancarter67.bsky.social and Dan Powell’s The Red Kite’s Year so I have got a copy of this!

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Wow! I bet there aren’t many folk out there who could beat that.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Took me one more than you, but up to 115 in a row now, quite a few by scraping through on the last attempt.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

For a handful of nature writers, I want to read all that they write. The common traits? Knowledge, understanding, clarity of thought, and a knack for transferring it all to the page with humour and enthusiasm. Mark is one of them. And his co-author is very good too. @markavery.bsky.social

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

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Ian Parsons @ianparsons.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Very excited to share this! My new book, published by @pelagic.bsky.social is out June 2026 pelagicpublishing.com/products/tar... Tarka Revisited - 100 Years of Rivers & Wildlife @iancarter67.bsky.social @markbirdingpinoso.bsky.social @drtonygillie.bsky.social @nicwilson.bsky.social

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Nic Wilson @nicwilson.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Tonight's my 14th & last book-related event for the term. So grateful my limited energy has lasted (with many recharge sessions). I've spoken in bank vaults, museums, libraries, bookshops, rewilding sites & round the fire in an Iron Age roundhouse. It's been a ball! @summersdalebooks.bsky.social

A group of people in a bookshop listening to a woman in a white shirt and navy trousers give a talk at the front.

Nic wearing an orange top and navy trousers showing her book, Land beneath the Waves. She is sat in a beige armchair in a bookshop.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Yes indeed. It’s quite a conflict along various parts of the Scottish coast, and elsewhere too. The tension between those seeking quiet enjoyment of the wildlife and those after one for the pot.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

The noisy early morning commute between the Solway and the fields where they feed. As I soon discovered, there were two wildfowlers hidden away directly below the flight line. Had these been Pink-feet rather than (non-shootable) Barnacle Geese, the spectacle would have been rudely interrupted.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Badger paths run across all the different layers of habitat in the glen. Across the fields, through gaps in the stone dykes then up and away into the hills where they make useful routes through the Bracken - narrow but just about walkable lines for humans through otherwise impenetrable vegetation.

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Ian Carter @iancarter67.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Yes, and howls in the vets until the sedation kicked in. Then they managed to cut the shaft of the hook and ease it free.

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