Category: Notes from the sticks

I DON’T suppose many share this view, but I have rather a soft spot for crows. They are beautiful birds and I have been entertained over the summer by a … Continue readingHard times in the crows’ nest

MY travels this week took me past a terrace of houses unlike any I have ever seen, with beautiful tile work on the front. I stopped to take a picture … Continue readingNot so much a hospital, more a small town

OVER the last week or two there’s been a sure sign that autumn is on its way – work has started on cutting back the roadside hedges. It is not … Continue readingCutting-edge hedge trimming

I KNOW it’s not a laughing matter, but I found it hard to suppress a snort when I read this in the i newspaper on Monday: ‘Heartbreaking scenes are playing out at … Continue readingMenace in a mink coat

IN my ignorance I thought there was only one type of wasp in this country. Amazingly there are 9,000 species here, and 200,000 have been identified worldwide, with possibly another … Continue readingIn defence of wasps

REGULAR readers will know I am not a particular fan of sheep, but even I feel sorry for them when they are newly shorn and it rains all the time. We have … Continue readingWool gathering

WE have a bird feeder which gives us endless enjoyment. It is like having a small theatre in the garden (though thankfully without the luvvies). We have a range of … Continue readingDivided loyalties

IN MY piece on skylarks last week I said that they are in decline and that the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) attribute this to changes in farming … Continue readingThe great badger debate

A NUMBER of people have remarked that the reduction in traffic noise during the lockdown has meant that they can hear birdsong more clearly. There are lots of beautiful singers … Continue readingWhat larks

TWO weeks ago a man of 82 was killed by a herd of cows in a field not far from here. The man and his wife were walking their two … Continue readingA battle with cattle