Country diary: a brief history of one of our most beautiful grasses
Ireshopeburn, Weardale, County Durham: Formal botanical terminology hides a rich cultural history of what was once meadow cat’s-tail and is now timothy“Aftermath”: in a news bulletin, a word usually...
View ArticleCountry diary: buzzed by a tiny caped crusader
Crook, County Durham: Some hoverflies are tricky to identify, but this wasp mimic should be easy for Batman fansInstinctively, I shied away from the buzzing near my ear, thinking it was a wasp. No,...
View ArticleCounty diary: a perfect warm, windless morning on the fell tops | Country diary
Pikestone Fell, County Durham: Clouds bubble up on the horizon, bringing a welcome breeze as we rest against the wall at the Elephant TreesThere are precious few September mornings as perfect as this...
View ArticleCountry diary: these many-legged creatures raise a stink
Crook, County Durham: Spotted snake millipedes have ozopores on the flanks of each of their segments to repel predatorsDigging the vegetable garden, I uncovered a potato, overlooked in an earlier...
View ArticleCountry diary: an epic upstream journey
Hamsterley Forest, County Durham: The circle of life continues in the beck, as fish born here return to breedTwo days of unremitting heavy rain, then, as the third dawned, patches of clear blue sky. In...
View ArticleCountry diary: abiding beauty amid the bareness
Hamsterley Forest, County Durham: It’s tempting to think of evolutionary success stories as inexorable advances in complexity, driven by competition. But what about resilience?A dense conifer...
View ArticleCountry diary: a creaky greenhouse makes a snug shelter from the downpour
Crook, County Durham: There’s a pleasant aroma of damp earth, and some wildflower seedlings are sproutingDuring a break in the rain, I dashed down to the greenhouse at the bottom of the garden. I was...
View ArticleCountry diary: a gorse seed weevil has a surprise in store
Wolsingham, County Durham: When I cut open a pod, a small black and green ball rolled out from among mouldy seed remains“When gorse is out of flower, kissing’s out of favour” goes the old saying,...
View ArticleCountry diary: a heron he would a-wooing go
Wolsingham, County Durham: Ready for courtship, he’s immaculately turned out, wings folded like a butler’s tailcoatA heron has perched on the same rock, mid-stream, near the bridge over the River Wear,...
View ArticleCountry diary: worms lose their grip in a deadly tug-of-war
Bishop Auckland, County Durham: The earthworms have little defence against marauding birds in this uneven struggle amid the mud Mud: boot-sucking liquid earth, the winter hazard that country walk...
View ArticleCountry diary: goosegrass and the glory of spring
Crook, County Durham: Every generation of children on a country walk learns how tenaciously a well-aimed handful of goosegrass will stick to coats, hats and glovesThere are many ways to be a plant....
View ArticleCountry diary: slim pickings for a goldcrest in winter
Crook, Co Durham: The bird pulled morsels from mossy crevices, but all I could find were tiny pupa of a micromothOn such a dazzling winter’s day in any other year, I might have gone over the hills and...
View ArticleCountry diary: among the signs of spring are echoes of the past
Willington, County Durham: A half-buried brick, stamped with the name Straker, is the last tangible evidence of one of the largest collieries in the countyThe longed-for, reassuring approach of spring...
View ArticleCountry diary: male wood pigeon has one thing on his mind
Crook, County Durham: With hopping, strutting and wide parabolic flights across the garden, this male is going to great lengths to win over a disdainful consortIf their plumage was gaudy, if they lived...
View ArticleCountry diary: the creature I'm after lurks at the very bottom of the pond
Crook, County Durham: The Victorians recommended water slaters for children to keep and study, and I need photographs to send to the grandchildrenAlmost 70, on my knees, and staring at life below the...
View ArticleCountry diary: the buck stops with me – momentarily
Bishop Auckland, County Durham: There was time enough for me to take in every detail: new antlers clothed in frayed velvet, eyes like polished jet, twitching ears and a rough coatAnyone following me...
View ArticleCountry diary: blackthorn winter has begun to loosen its grip
Wolsingham, County Durham: Pearly buds have opened, smothering blackthorn twigs in a froth of blossom. Spring’s brief intermission is overIn The Generation Game, a popular 1970s TV show, winning...
View ArticleCountry diary: the strange beauty of a woodland beetle
Weardale, County Durham: The sun has warmed up the woodland and brought the insects to lifeAs I emerged from the deep shade of the riverbank woodland, it was pleasant to feel the warmth of the sun on...
View ArticleCountry diary: sheltering from a hailstorm took me back in time
Weardale, County Durham: The valley was full of birdsong today, but in the early 20th century, visitors came here for a different kind of musicThe early morning sunshine was too good to last. Driven by...
View ArticleCountry diary: a nest busy with housekeeping ants
Hamsterley Forest, County Durham: A new generation is hatching. This ant metropolis will be home to at least 100,000 by midsummerHad I stood this close to the wood ants’ nest on one of last spring’s...
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