Outdoor Living

NATURE Country Sights and Sounds’ true author is revealed, while a blackcap takes centre stage in the dawn chorus

NATURE John Shelley remembers how his love for nature began and was fostered during his childhood

NATURE John Shelley enjoys the gentle coos and spring antics of a fastidious wood pigeon selecting the perfect stick for its nest

Up to 25 Old Irish Goats are leaving the hills of Mulranny to take up residence in the salubrious surrounds of Howth Head

NATURE Pat Fahy on the joys of watching garden birds and taking part in the Irish Garden Bird Survey

NATURE John Shelley takes a stroll to a rookery and contemplates the joys – and potential vexations – of having rooks as neighbours

NATURE With peat compost soon be a thing of the past, Pat Fahy looks at the benefits of using comfrey in the garden

CULTURE Sonia Kelly looks at the history of our grá for horses, from the Irish Hobby to the Connemara pony and Irish Draught

NATURE A two-inch thorn lodges in John Shelley’s knuckle, causing swelling, pain and an attack of guilt over cutting a neighbour’s ash

GREEN LIVING The year of lockdowns has allowed McKinley and her family focus on creating the garden of their dreams