Looking really closely is a beloved and intimate activity that has returned to me during my time on the Phytology site. This lens, the end of a glass bottle, along with the round window I cut into the shed, and the round eye of my mobile phone microscope, are the symbol of the renewed closeness with which I have felt able and inclined to observe. I feel privileged to have the time and mental space to do so. Looking closely has given me a renewed sense of wonder in the world, the same as I did as a child, examining leaves, rocks and bugs on the way to school (always took ages to get there). A focused looking at small things changes how you understand bigger things. You recognise bugs upon bugs, patterns within patterns, plants upon plants, materials in their smallest and most active forms, mingling together.