Down on the Dairy farm in March

Dairy farming Whilst I write a fair bit about sheep farming on here there are of course other ways in which the land of the Northwest is farmed, after all we produce over 15% of the UK’s farmed food and ¼ of the nation’s milk! With this is in mind I’d like to write aContinue reading “Down on the Dairy farm in March”

The Alder

The Common alder Alder glutinosa, is a very hardy species of tree found all along the cloughs, streams and riverbanks of the Northwest, with some areas of Alder woodland traditionally referred to as ‘Carr’. As it does not usually suffer from late spring frosts and is hardy to early autumn frosts it has been plantedContinue reading “The Alder”

In like a Lion, out like a Lamb

The expression ‘In like a Lion, out like a Lamb’, is recorded as far back as the 1600’s but is thought to be much older. It is used to describe the tendency of the month of March to begin with stormy weather yet end with calm, after all March marks the start of meteorological springContinue reading “In like a Lion, out like a Lamb”

The Red-tailed Bumblebee

The Red-Tailed Bumblebee The Red-tailed Bumblebee’s scientific name is Bombus lapidarius, bombus simply meaning bee and lapidarius meaning ‘relating to stones’, referring to the small mounds of tiny gravel found where the bumblebee has dug a nest. Common and easily identifiable It is a common and easily identifiable Bumblebee found all across the British islesContinue reading “The Red-tailed Bumblebee”