It was lovely to see the woodlands coming alive in the Easter sunshine. We saw so many butterflies that we gave up counting. Comma, brimstone, peacock, painted lady, large white and small tortoiseshell. There were so many ladybirds resting on the skylight in the yurt. Ladybirds in the UK are vital garden predators, with 26 recognisable species (e.g., 7-spot, 2-spot) that feed on aphids and mildews. They undergo a four-stage life cycle, laying yellow eggs that hatch into al

Butterfly sightings are becoming increasingly common as the weather starts to warm up. But which ones are first on the scene? What you are most likely to see in early spring include: Peacock, from mid-February Small tortoiseshell, from the end of February Brimstone, from the start of March Comma, from the start of March Red admiral, from the start of March Small white, from the end of March We have already seen 4 peacocks and a small tortoiseshell. Steve also saw a shrew in t

Moss has been delighting in this weather and the intensity of the colour is extraordinary. The daffodils are up under the Oak tree. The hazel catkins make us realise Spring is getting clser. And last of all.... even in the rain the birds are singing.

I visited a David Nash exhibition in Wales and was blown away by his understanding of trees and wood. Of great interest was his "Ash Dome", a living art installation created by him. He planted 22 ash saplings in a ring in a secret location in Snowdonia, Wales, in 1977. Nash used techniques from British hedge-making to bend and train the trees as they grew, shaping them into a dome or vortex-like structure over decades. The artwork is intended to be a long-lived, ever-evolving