iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

It's heartbreaking that our new neighbours have built this giant raised platform on our border. Our two patios, which used to be full of sunshine & pots of flowers, are now thrown into shade, and noise from this 10ft stockade has driven the wildlife away. 😞All the flowers on the boundary have died.

A gargantuan elevated platform, topped with 4ft fence panels, towers behind a property boundary, right up against the line. It's propped up on 6ft high stilts, above two stepped (and formerly sunny) patios on a hillside garden. Solar lights in muted jewel colours hang folornly and redundantly in a row from the handrail on the higher patio in the near garden, and several pots containing young trees are the only remaining plants in the deep shade of the raised deck. In the foreground, a garden table and a pair of matching chairs sit unoccupied in front of the huge dark void on the structure's underside. Pieces of rubbish can be glimpsed in the space beneath the pier-like platform. The man-made deck is in sharp contrast to the trees and shrubs on either side of it; imposing itself on the natural contours of the land. It has an oppressive and overbearing presence which dominates the garden below it.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

The garden is looking lovely in the spring sunshine. All the bluebells flowered early, and the coral root bittercress colony that magically appeared under the Bramley last year has tripled in size. The beech hedge also suddenly sprang into life with leaves in such a vivid green they seem to glow.

A rust-coloured wooden summerhouse sits at the top of a sloping hillside garden, surrounded by trees and shrubs. A fire-hued azalea sits in the middle ground on the right. Opposite is a Bramley apple tree, covered in white flowers edged with pale pink, and a bird feeder is hanging from its branches. Beneath the tree, in dappled shade, is a swathe of bluebells and wildflowers with muted pink petals. Above is a deep blue cloudless sky.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Jacob's Ladder is the county flower of Derbyshire, so I'm extra happy to discover that it has popped up unexpectedly in my garden this year; no doubt a gift from the birds. Maybe it's a thank you present for feeding them throughout the year and encouraging them to nest in our trees and hedges. 😁

Vivid violet-blue flowers with yellow centres, on top of tall spire-like stems, make a striking picture in bright sunlight. In the background, and slightly out of focus, three flowerpots sit on top of a weathered grey stone wall.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Nearly a year on, and the cabin is looking a lot more grown in and settled into its landscape. I planted the broom from seed, and it's just stunning this spring.

A waterfall of bright yellow broom flowers, on curved dark green branches, tumble across the side of this garden scene, contrasting with the chestnut brown colour of a wooden summerhouse beyond. Pots of flowers frame the building's narrow veranda. A vibrant blue sky with a scattering of small white clouds is reflected in the glass panes of the doors and windows, which extend across the whole width of the cabin's front. Inside, a pair of cream-coloured conservatory chairs can be glimpsed, with dark green blankets draped over their backs, ready for chilly evenings when the sun has set.
The interior walls of the building are painted in a buttermilk shade. A pair of small wood and wrought iron patio chairs sit next to a matching table on top of a raised earth patio to the left of the summerhouse. Two long narrow planters, filled with red and yellow daisy-type flowers, occupy the near edge of the banked-up area. Behind the cabin, a Japanese Maple with dark coppery leaves towers above the structure.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

There are some days that are so exquisite that I just can't write, because all I want to do is sit back and drink in the view.

In the foreground, looking out from the inside of a summerhouse, a mug, bearing a fantasy-style painting of a fairy and an owl, rests on a slate coaster on top of a small wooden table. Beside it is a pair of glasses. To both the left and the right, pale khaki-coloured bucket-style gardening hats hang. An old-fashioned copper lantern and a pair of gardening gloves are on a hook beside the open door to a sunny garden, which is ablaze with the vibrant colours of trees and shrubs: an apricot-hued azalea glowing like a fire in the centre. Beyond this, out-of-focus hills can be glimpsed in the far distance.

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Reposted by Rachael Rowan

Radio Lento @radiolento.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Whether you have listened to one Lento episode or ten, please could you show your support? Every coffee brightens our day. Donations help to cover our costs. Thank you > ko-fi.com/radiolento

mural of swifts flying, on a wall at a train station. a bright yellow repair train waits on the platform. a blue arrow on it points left.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

When people ask me why I exchanged city life for the relative wild of the High Peak, I tell them about the village's quirkiness and vibrancy, its beautifully slow pace, and my warm neighbours. Or I could just show them this picture; taken minutes from my door, on the hill I now call home.

Far-reaching view of a snow-covered field, with pale wintry hills in the distance. A low drystone wall is in the foreground, and a row of bare trees stands to the left. A ruined stone barn is in the middle foreground, and a lone sheep grazes under the trees. A bank of leaden dark blue-grey clouds threatens more snow above the scene, but it is cut through by a contrasting band of pale apricot sky on the horizon.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

One of the best things about going for a walk in the Derbyshire countryside around Whaley Bridge is coming home. I love returning by the canal towpath at the end of the day & rounding the corner to see the Transhipment Warehouse, with its cheery lights gleaming across the dark water. #WhaleyBridge

Twilight view of Whaley Bridge canal basin and the Transhipment Warehouse, looking out over the wharf. There is a turquoise-painted wooden bench in the foreground and narrowboats, with golden light in their windows and smoke rising from their chimneys, are moored on the right hand side. Bright yellow light is spilling out of the large windows in the warehouse at the head of the canal, reflected wavily in the dark water. A streetlamp casts light into the bare branches of the trees above and behind it. On the bench is painted a sign that says 'Rest a while. Leave a smile.'

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

Here's the main reason I write in my new cabin. When the book you're working on is all about the healing power of the natural world, your creative batteries are charged to the max by seeing this every time you look up from the page.

Far-reaching view from inside a wooden summerhouse of lush green hills, framed by the windows and wide open door of the building. There are multiple small high contrast clouds in the silvery sky.
The vista looks out over a sloping lawn and the rooftops of houses in the mid distance. Closest to the camera is a stack of cream cushions, with small pink roses on them. A copper coloured old-fashioned radio sits on top of the cushions.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 16/11/2024

My hubby and I spent weeks in the rain this year, building a summerhouse. We had to dig over 4 tons of earth and stones out of our hillside garden to create a level space before we could even start construction! It's now my writing cabin. Pictured is Dustin, my literary editor. He's very strict.

A black and white cat sits on the porch of a wooden summerhouse, nestled among trees and shrubs. The sky is reflected in the window panes. Inside, on a low table, is a bottle of bubbly and two glasses; ready to celebrate the completion of this garden sanctuary.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Visiting the graveyard at St.James Church in Taxal recently, I was struck by the quiet air of the place & how surprisingly naturally it seemed to occupy the landscape; surrounded by rustling trees & the distant chatter of the river. It felt like it had always been there; gently holding the departed.

An old gravestone, edged in silvery-green lichen, stands against a lowering sky, framed by further stones in a grassy churchyard. In the distance, tall deciduous native trees border the scene; decked in the soft oranges and yellows of autumn. The sun is shining and the scene is peaceful.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 22/04/2024

Although this looks very similar to the Lady's Smock I saw last week, this is apparently closely-related Coralroot Bittercress. I found it in the shade of an old beech hedge. The dark bulbils on the stem set it apart from its lookalike cousin. It's not a common plant, so I'll take great care of it.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

I'm testing my new wood knife by whittling the ends of a tripod frame to support the sweet peas hubby's grown from seed. We've got lots of branches for this purpose as our beeches have just been pruned. It's challenging though when your cat wants to play with the stick while you're working on it! 😄

A small woodcarving knife lies next to a stick and some twigs on a wooden garden table.

A large black and white cat lies on a garden table beside a whittling knife and a small piece of branch wood. The cat looks slightly guilty.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

This Cuckoo Flower, also known as Lady's Smock, has popped up at the top of our garden, at the edge of the woodland bit, near the silver birches I planted a couple of years ago. The space is slowly turning into what we want: a blend of natural countryside and traditional cottage garden.🙂

A pale lilac coloured, four-petalled Cuckoo Flower stands out against a background of bright green grass.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

I love forget-me-nots. Their sweet lavender blue faces are among the first to greet the spring. This year we found a whole bed of them in our garden; gifted us by a passing bird or small animal. All I know is that we didn't plant them, but they're all around the edge of one of the patios. Wonderful.

Forget-me-not flowers against green leaves.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 13/04/2024

It's been pouring with rain all day today, and grey clouds have rubbed out the hills. But yesterday was the warmest day of the year so far, and the view from the old road out of the village looked like this.

Landscape view of low hills in the background, with trees in the foreground.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 12/04/2024

It's fantastic seeing my garden come back to life, as the new season stretches itself awake, then gathers pace to renew life and colour the landscape. What I particularly love about this shot that I took today is the fact that the welcome warm spring sunlight is reflected in the ladybird's wing. 🙂

Close-up of a British ladybird on a lavender-coloured Azela flower.

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Rachael Rowan @rachaelrowan.bsky.social · 09/04/2024

I saw four buzzards this morning, wheeling above my garden; their mewing drifting with them in circles in the soft grey sky. A pair of collared doves pecked bright green buds on the old Bramley tree, whilst the bright petals of stonecrop, celandines and wild garlic shone beneath. It is spring.

Pale yellow Gold Moss Stonecrop flowers on a drystone wall.

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