THE weather has been kind over the past few weeks. No frost to blacken the new leaves of the potatoes which are now above ground — though it has been touch-and-go on a couple of nights. And there’s been plenty of sunshine during the day, with little in the way of rain and wind.

I’VE been living on the same small patch of rural Ireland for more than 25 years and for all that time I’ve been carefully keeping tabs on the wildlife around me.

MOST people interested in wildlife are more familiar with birds than with animals. This is because most of our bird species are active during the day and sleep at night, while our wild mammals tend to be wholly or partially nocturnal.

THE weather was colder than normal for much of April. I was preparing beds in my vegetable garden in the chilly midlands and when my hands were in contact with the soil for about 20 minutes they went numb. I didn’t need a thermometer to tell me that it was too soon to start sowing things.

THE other day, a friend of mine pointed to some hazel catkins and asked “what are those?” I’m surprised at how few tree species most people can identify.

A RETIRED couple who are regular readers of this page have sent me a long email about the pleasure and satisfaction they get from feeding the birds in their garden.

I WAS away for a few days and when I came back there was a message on my answering machine. It was from a man I didn’t know who lived in the local village. He wanted advice on how to rear two baby hares.

ON a recent visit to the west I was given a copy of a remarkable book called The Living Farmland — A Guide To Farming With Nature In Clare.

I SPENT the Easter weekend travelling the Grand Canal. We brought our boat from Shannon Harbour, which is near Banagher in west Offaly, to Lowtown, near Robertstown in Kildare.

A FEW weeks ago a reader emailed me with a query about the life-cycle of eels.