Donal Hickey: In case you need another reason to head down to the woods today...

Abundant lichens and mosses due to high rainfall and humidity
As summer arrives, the Munster Blackwater once again enhances its claim as the most scenic river valley in Ireland, mainly due to the profusion of majestic trees that adorn much of the countryside through which it runs.
The valley is now looking its best after a long, wet winter, as the trees come into full leaf. One of nature’s many wonders. The ascendancy of another, long-passed era, took pride in their wooded demesnes which survive and make this a truly enchanting waterway.