MAY is sometimes called the month that begins in spring and ends in summer.

A FEW days ago I was travelling slowly down the Grand Canal in my boat when a female mallard appeared out of a reed bed a few metres in front of the bow.

LAST week I gave a talk about trees at Salterbridge House near Cappoquin as part of the Waterford Garden Festival.

TWICE a year, in the spring and autumn, the National Biodiversity Data Centre produces an online magazine called Biodiversity Ireland.

I MISS the hares in the meadow.

SPRING is a busy time of the year in my vegetable garden.

PRIMROSES and cowslips are among the most popular of our spring wildflowers, although sadly both species are far less common than they used to be.

PHENOLOGY is the study of variations in the timing of events in the natural world.

I HAVE a friend whose house is surrounded by tall beech trees.

ABOUT a week ago I was travelling by boat on the Shannon.