Nature

When I was watching Springwatch a month ago little did I know that I would be one of the lucky few to spot a Pine Marten. The animal was featured on the programme and named as a rare and endangered species.

'The apple tree throws down its dead and we kneel, fools for its blackened, overripe flesh.'

A flurry of butterflies awaits us, as we prepare to make the most of a rare blue sky. The weather has been stubbornly grey recently, so here is a chance to show my little girl that life can have a shine all of its own.

When the sand draws you down to its grainy heart, you have to keep control of your feet, lift them, before they sink completely. This, I found out while walking on the beach at Ardmore with my husband and baby daughter. I was posing for a lighthearted picture and somehow my daughter's buggy stayed firm, while the sand crept up over my ballet pumps.

 Did you know that lambs can stampede? Neither did I until I went for a nature walk the other day and found myself observing...

I've been seeing wild rabbits everywhere, in people's gardens, at the side of the road, emerging from woodland. None of them have been white or have caused me to fall into a pit and hallicinate so I think I'm safe enough ;) .

All around, the coral mountains, crumbling stone walls, lakes - a shade that borrows from sea, that could belong to somebody's eyes . . . These were my impressions of County Galway, as we journeyed towards Clifden, a town known for its extraordinary position, nestled between the foothills of the Twelve Bens and the magnificent Atlantic Ocean. The day was sleepy with heat, an atmosphere reflected in this island, furnished with sloping trees.

This year Father's Day was bitter sweet. I didn't get to spend the day with my Dad but I did come face to face with a wagtail who gave me the wisdom of wildlife.

Imagine the scene. My husband cheerfully mowing the lawn, when a sudden movement catches his eye. Is it a rat, a mouse with a mohawk? No, it's a hedgehog. Cue, sigh of relief!