TOURISTS sometimes photograph disused farm buildings in the countryside and seem to find them endlessly fascinating.

A SHARP decline in the number of salmon entering a well-known angling river could close it as a fishery in 2013.

PEOPLE fret nowadays when there’s a focus on the impact of a development, such as a windfarm on wildlife.

A DECLINE in traffic on the roads has become very noticeable since the recession began — a trend that’s likely to continue due to the increasing price of petrol and diesel.

IN the days when youngsters spent seemingly endless time fishing for brown trout, they would sometimes catch an eel, of which there was a plentiful supply in our lakes and rivers.

GLORIOUS fuchsia, so much part of the landscape of West Cork and Kerry, seems to be growing in greater profusion than ever this year, as anyone travelling those areas can testify.

AN Irish vessel is playing a central role in important research into cod stocks in the North Atlantic, which is beginning to show signs of hope for the endangered species.

THE belief that animals can give signs to humans of impending death is still strong in folk traditions internationally, including our own.

A LONG-HORNED king of the hills, which must have been bemused by the curiosity of thousands of humans over the weekend, will today be returned to his fastness in the Kerry mountains.

OF the thousands of people out walking during the bank holiday, some will choose bogs and general peatland areas, but how many really understand how unique that landscape is?