The Farne Islands are remote, but they aren't quiet. During the summer months, this cluster of rocks off the coast of northern England becomes home to thousands of seabirds. Puffins dart overhead, their beaks full of sand eels. Arctic terns dive-bomb visitors to protect their chicks. In the old church, island rangers compete for attention with the swallows that nest among wooden beams. It's a reminder that nature isn't always peaceful. Sometimes, it's chaos.

This was the picture I tried to paint when our friends, Tom and Rachel, came up from London to visit my boyfriend and I in the north earlier this summer. Maybe my descriptions were too restrained; or perhaps it has simply become difficult to accept a scenario where nature is clamorous and uncontrolled. In any case, it was clear that they didn’t quite believe me.

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“What are the chances of seeing a puffin?” they asked, before getting adorably excited when the first ungainly bird flapped into view on our way out to the Farne Islands.