There’s a bit about good old on the page I hear you say)Mmm….That reminds me of the joke about what you’dget if Whoopi Goldberg married Gerard Depardieu….Though hearing it spoken out loud is better than reading it!

Please note….I think it’s only fair to say that this particular Twitch cartoon is based around an original idea that first appeared in a copy of “Private Eye” magazine in 2006.

In the wake of the catastrophic decline in the national Tree Sparrow population comes the humble House Sparrow. Both are disappearing from town and country at an unbelievable rate. Fast enough in fact, to result in both species becoming virtually extinct within the next ten Years! ….but why? Well, no-one seems to be absolutely certain despite a number of theories currently on offer….and I don’t have any answers either. However, in my job, I do get to notice things, if only…

Finally, the leaves are turning brown and the colder nights are with us. Autumn has arrived at last. I’ve noticed that the frosts we’ve had during the last two or three nights have already finished off many of the late summer wildflowers and some of the birds that I haven’t seen in the garden for months, such as flocks of Long-Tailed Tits and a Tree-creeper or two are returning to feed at the peanut dispensers…though I’m not so sure that the Tree-creepers…

Probably the most belligerent, bad-tempered and territorial little bird ever to grace a garden….“Uppity Bill” wastes no time in letting everyone know who’s boss. Nevertheless, I have gradually managed to persuade him to feed quite happily from my hand using live mealworms, so I guess that, like a lot of characters I’ve known over the years, he has his price!

The wrought ironwork connecting these magnificent old gate posts is totally exquisite and of the highest quality craftsmanship, but it is also all that now remains of the original gates themselves.As for the tree…the total incongruity of its position adds, not just a sense of mystery, but of loss as well…the loss of an altogether different age when life was just a little bit slower and standards were significantly higher. It was a time when the quality of workmanship was much more…

Perfect weather….bright sunshine, blue skies and enough breeze to stir the tops of the trees and rustle the leaves, making our Autumn visit to Westonbirt an unforgettable, full-on sensory experience. We went on a Friday as well, so it wasn’t too busy!

I’ve never seen so many distressed-looking Bees and the numbers of dead ones I find (three yesterday and four today for example) simply beggars belief….and it’s not just certain types of Bee that are affected, such as Honey Bees, but all the species appear to be suffering!

I draw the attention of all members of the Corps Family to the request below from the Operation Frankton Memorial Appeal. As a Vice Patron of this worthy cause, I am seized of the merits of building an enduring memorial in France that will commemorate the courage, skill and determination of all those who participated in this important operation, which has achieved legendary status not only in Corps history but also the national consciousness. A small donation is sought from each of many people.…

Silly, but I didn’t take a photograph of the bright crimson undersides of the claws. However, you can see the diagnostic turquoise-blue colouring (sometimes white) of the claw hinges in the top picture and the defining parallel ridge structures of the rostrum just above the eyes in this photograph (those of the White-Claw Crayfish tend to come more together at the tip).

I’ve talked about Cuckoo Flower in depth elsewhere, so I’ve nothing to add really, except that 2009 is turning out to be a particularly good year for this pretty little member of the Cabbage family.

There are three types of animal kills (especially those involving larger mammals, such as sheep and deer), that always catch my attention….(1), the type committed by canids which are usually (though not always) of a quite recognisable type and typically very messy….(2), kills carried out by felids which are generally far less messy as well as being very distinctive for a variety of other ‘signature-type’ reasons and, (3), kills perpetrated by humans, but which are…