THE whine of the chainsaw can still be heard in the countryside as people continue to cut up trees laid low by Storm Darwin more than two months ago. You might say the ferocious storm had a sort of silver lining in that the fallen trees will result in more use of renewable fuel.

That estimable survivor of the showband era, Big Tom McBride from Co Monaghan, once had a hit about an old-fashioned Irish mother “in the fields where the wildflowers grow’’.

YOU might, quite understandably, think the litter situation is bad here. But, just consider how much worse it would be only for the genuine efforts of the large and widely dispersed army of volunteers that picks up other people’s rubbish.

It might be said that fish and water-attracted birds are about the only wildlife that relish flood conditions.

PEOPLE can often be better informed about global environmental issues than what is happening on their doorsteps.

FOR all the ballyhoo surrounding St Patrick’s Day, the tradition of sporting a sprig of shamrock has faded in recent years, despite the fact that it can be bought packaged in many shops. Even the use of a little lapel sachet that keeps the plant fresh throughout the day is making little difference to the wearing of it.

It’s the time of year when large numbers of frogs can be seen on the roads at night with predictable results — death under the wheels of cars and other traffic.

SERIOUS flooding in recent times is prompting people to look at new ways of resolving, long-term, a problem that’s likely to remain with us, given climate change and all that implies.

SOME people who tend to get upset about the building of houses in rural areas often ignore the fact that the over-expansion of Dublin is a far more serious environmental problem for the country. Just sniff the air in the capital or observe traffic there and you quickly get the message.

ANYONE who has ever tried to organise a litter clean-up in their area will have found a number of willing volunteers, but also people who believe it’s “the council’s job’’ and not theirs.