NATURE Two of our most familiar summer visitors, cuckoos and swallows, are taking to the skies
Outdoor Living
Plight of the bumblebee
NATURE John Shelley forms a newfound respect for the emotional intelligence of the bumblebee after two encounters
Morrigan’s choice
NATURE John Shelley meets a young, crash-landed crow, and has a hard time convincing his friend not to take her life
The complicated business of saving the hay
NATURE There’s nothing like the smell of new mown hay, but saving it – now that’s a whole other story
Choked waterways and poor fishing days
NATURE Perch are as plentiful as trout once were – but is it pike or water quality that is to blame for the trout decline?
Ffionn’s leap and plover pebbles
NATURE John Shelley’s adopted fox cub breaks for freedom, prompting a meditation on the natural way of things
A foxy lady arrives
OUTDOOR LIVING John Shelley takes in a lost fox cub, and finds his heartstrings pulled every which way
Collectable edibles
NATURE John Shelley tries a goosegrass and dandelion-leaf sandwich, washing it down with hawthorne-leaf tea
Can of worms
NATURE John Shelley watches on disapprovingly as his friend uses unsavoury methods to catch earthworms for trout fishing
A chase with consequences
NATURE With cat romance season in full swing, John Shelley discusses the inevitable repercussions for our garden birds
The craic with applejack
After migraine-inducing run-ins with homemade wines in the past, John Shelley is pleasantly surprised by an apple concoction