All the way from the west Cork byroads to the byroads of Clare and Galway we saw balls of twigs in the wayside trees with tunnels of light showing through, neatly arched entrances nearer the base than the roof.

One day last week we woke to sunshine after days of deluges and flooding on West Cork roads and (once again) in the towns of Bandon and Clonakilty.

The otter that rose from the waters of the River Suir at Kilsheelan, Co. Tipperary, made my wife jump.

WE HAVE siskins at our peanut feeder.

WHEN my wife and I crossed Wenceslas Square in the beautiful city of Prague on St Stephen’s Day, there was no snow on the ground, crisp, even or otherwise.

Horses in their winter jackets look somewhat doleful as they stand casting long shadows in the sloping fields above the sea.

WAS it that they were blinded by the sunlight and didn’t see me, the two young foxes sitting on a ridge 200 metres away, their thick fur russet against the grass and their white chests very pale?

Certain characteristics distinguish the small island of La Gomera which I recently visited from the larger resort islands of the Canaries.

These cold, bright days, full of sun and fresh air, lift the spirits immeasurably.

THE Canary Islands are universally associated with sun, sea and sand but they have many other attractions and the sheer diversity of the islands is striking.