Category: Notes from the sticks

ONE of the many pleasures of living in the country is that there are occasional tractor runs, when vintage farm vehicles parade through the village before driving around for a … Continue readingTransports of delight

WE are having some wonderful warm weather, which is very welcome. Not so welcome are the biting insects which accompany it. A few days ago a little wretch got inside … Continue readingOnce bitten . . .

IT’S decades since I saw a hedgehog, but this week a woman in our village told me that until this year she had five or six regularly visiting her garden. … Continue readingHedgehogs aren’t pets

THERE is a strong human instinct to feed wild creatures. I don’t know why but maybe it’s some primitive desire to tame them. It seems a kind thing to do, … Continue readingFood for thought (and red kites)

ONCE or twice I have turned on the telly and caught the end of one of those programmes in which a hopeless old wreck of a car is turned into … Continue readingThe name’s Bond . . .

THE picture below shows one of my most treasured possessions. It is a memento of an event which took place almost exactly 90 years ago – the anniversary is on … Continue readingFrom Sheep’s Back to Man’s Back

A FEW days ago my husband Alan heard a cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) while he was on the fells with the dog. According to the old rhyme, ‘in June I change … Continue readingCuckoos clocked

IN A masterpiece of timing, after the fourth-wettest May on record the Royal Horticultural Society has told gardeners that they should not water their lawns but allow them to die back. … Continue readingBrowned off

I THINK I may be in a minority by liking Canada geese (Branta canadensis). I am sure if there were fewer of them they would be a lot more popular. Certainly … Continue readingHonk if you’re a good parent

ONE my favourite YouTube clips is this one from November 2011 of a black labrador called Fenton having a great time chasing red deer in Richmond Park while his owner … Continue readingStag do