IN the part of the midlands where I live we had a late spring with low soil temperatures persisting for several weeks longer than normal.

LAST Monday I mentioned that I thought cuckoos were more plentiful this year than they have been in recent years and asked if any readers had noticed the same thing.

I WENT for a walk in a wood the other day with a friend of mine.

WHEN I heard that BirdWatch Ireland was starting a survey of kestrel numbers in Ireland one thing immediately struck me.

I SPENT the bank holiday weekend on my boat on the Grand Canal.

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

I WAS supposed to go to Spain for a short break that was a birthday present for my wife.

I WAS in west Clare about ten days ago and, because it was April and the sun was shining, I decided to go and look for vernal gentians in the Burren.

OLIVER RACKHAM is the acknowledged guru of woodland ecology and all things to do with trees.

MY wife is cross.