CAN there be a better topic to get people talking than the weather? 

THE common dormouse, made famous through the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, has been found in Ireland and is being treated as a non-native species. 

NOWADAYS with professional experts giving weather forecasts based on science and studies of the atmosphere, it is common to mock traditional weather lore, farmers and other rural folk who relied on signs from plants and animals to predict the capricious elements.

IT’S not always appreciated, but birds of prey, including barn owls and red kites, play a key role in controlling the rat and mice population in a natural way, writes Donal Hickey

WHEN the sun is shining and skies are blue is there a nicer place to be than the beach? Even if there’s only a mild hope of a favourable weather, we flock to the seaside.

TIME was leading tourist towns like Westport, Co Mayo, and Killarney, Co Kerry, were criticised for not being attractive in themselves, despite their exquisite surrounds.

SCHOOL holidays are almost here and, hopefully, long, sunny days lie ahead.

THE odd snippet of good news about nature, such as the hatching of five white-tailed eaglets, should not lull us into a believing that things are looking up for the natural world.

THE number of people cycling in Ireland has more than doubled in the past 10 years, which must surely be a help in easing traffic congestion on the roads, not forgetting the health and environmental benefits.

RURAL communities hold the key to nature conservation and, by so doing, can ensure their own survival — was the message from a conference of environmental experts in Newmarket, Co Cork.