Open Mic

Open Mic

Welcome to the Buzzle.com Open Mic! My name is Traci Bonlender, and I am the Moderator for the Escape Hatch (and Open Mic).

Open Mic offers a writing venue for any Buzzle.com member. Enjoy fiction and true-life stories, "Unplugged". You don't have to be a Buzzle.com writer to submit your stories and poetry to Open Mic. The Escape Hatch moderator will take a quick glance at your work before posting it on the site.

While the Short Fixion features content written by Buzzle.com writers and are reviewed carefully by the Escape Hatch Moderator, the writing you find here in Open Mic is written by anyone with something to say. And, rather than going through the Buzzle.com approval process, pieces submitted here are given a quick glance and place them "as is" on the site.

The only requirement to submit writing to Buzzle.com is that you sign up to be a member. And, member sign-up is of course free and quite easy.

So enjoy yourself-- if you find you have something to say, don't be afraid, just submit it!

Warning: Discretionary Content. Articles in this Buzzle.com chapter may contain material that is either inappropriate or offensive to some audiences.


Country Diary: Luckhurst Colin Luckhurst: At the bottom of Chavenage Lane, just before the quarry, a sight that gladdens my heart and eye greets me on my regular morning bike ride.	Country Diary: Loch Ruthven Ray Collier: Sitting in the large, comfortable hide on the edge of the loch, a few miles south of Inverness, the scene looked idyllic.
My Punishment From God Ummmm mistakes come and go.. this one is hard to let go? Please comment I need the support... any advice is welcomed.	Afraid to Talk About Dying When my husband was diagnosed with esophagus cancer, we never talked about him dying, except in the very beginning. I think we were afraid to voice the worst scenario we could think of, him not...
Living a Half Life After my husband’s death, I enclosed myself in an emotional shell. A hard cased, untouchable cocoon of nothingness. I wanted to be numb, I wanted to be left alone.	Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Sarah Poyntz This year marks my 21 years as a country diary scribe.
A Dream About Dying My husband was ill ten months with cancer when I had the dream. I had been taking care of his needs for almost eleven months, and even though some days there seemed to be progress, in hindsight I...	Sometimes You Need to Cry I recall a period in time, at about 18 months after my husband passed away, that I felt pretty good about myself. I had handled what life had thrown me and come out battered, but mostly okay on the...
Country Diary: Tamar Valley Virginia Spiers: Early strawberries, grown in polytunnels above the tidal Tamar, are already for sale (at £1.50 a punnet) on a roadside stall, displayed with bundles of tasty outdoor rhubarb.	Cannibals and Vampire Covens that murder and Lie for Money I had a chip, but I was a disabled mother and they all thought I was a Government agent.
Nuclear Genocide related to warfare It is about my testimony of MIA agents that deceased here.	Country Diary: Gloucestershire Colin Luckhurst: For centuries the village blacksmith was a man of substance in his community, and his smithy both a working environment of some drama - with glowing forge, clouds of steam and...
Love Your Body, Love Yourself Just my thoughts about how (we) women put so much pressure on ourselves regarding physical appearance.	Country Diary: Loch Flemington Ray Collier: It may simply be my advancing years, but each spring there seems to be an even greater urgency to see the first summer bird migrants.
Using a microchip for an Illegal purpose Invention used for wrong intent....	Dating After Loss of a Spouse When a relationship ends due to one partner dying, what is the correct time period to begin dating again? Grief is such a funny, unpredictable animal.
A Widow's Many "Firsts" The left side of the bed where my husband used to sleep remains neatly made, hardly a ripple disturbing the quilted surface. I sleep on the right side each night, where I had slept the twenty-plus...	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Wenlock Edge: A rainbow arcs low and wide like a slick of petrol over dark clouds in the north. Struck by sunlight, the high branches of poplars glow orange against the charcoal grey.
Proverb.... However much you are educated...	Living in The Box My incoherent drunken ramblings.
Important Information To Know Present factual data to inform those contemplating travel to "well-known" tourist regions. It is the right of every citizen to make informed decisions prior to planning travel.	Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Sarah Poyntz: Romance held them in its warm embrace.
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: Halfway through the middle of last week, the wind dropped, the rain stopped and the sun came out.	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: The car was stopped in the narrowest section of the lane where the high banks reached up to old ash trees whose branches criss-crossed and rattled in the wind.
Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Mark Cocker: For the first time ever the slender white heron with wire-thin legs and serpentine neck called the little egret has arrived in strength on our marsh.	Enjoy The Simple Things In Life A picnic is basking in a tree's shade at a nearby park, the warm summer breeze caressing my skin, the sounds of laughter from children, and the sweet aromas swirling from the BBQ.
What's Your View On Aging? The only time we like to get old is when we are kids.	My Mother's Battle Please help support the fight against cancer.
Country Diary: Highlands Ray Collier: The recent sighting of a white red deer stag on the west coast led to a great deal of publicity, although the location is kept secret.	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: The storm that dropped in on us on Sunday night was nowhere near as ferocious as it was further west in Wales.
Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: Most people who know the river Parrett are likely to think of it as creeping sluggishly across the Somerset wetlands, and famously dropping at only 20cm per km (or one foot per mile).	Country Diary: Tikal, Guatemala Mark Cocker: It's the sound of the howler monkeys that first strikes you.
Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Dolphins visit the Farne Islands more regularly than we suggested in the article below. Bottlenose and white-beaked dolphins are recorded every year, although Risso's dolphins were...	Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Dolphins visit the Farne Islands more regularly than we suggested in the article below.
Country Diary: South Yorkshire Roger Redfern: My friend Stephen Sampson (who I've mentioned before) celebrates his hundredth birthday later this month.	The Way Of Life His Other Writing…
The Real Thing Of Life He was thinking real hard…	Country Diary: John Vallins John Vallins: The village shop at Mudford, north of Yeovil, is a combined post office, general store and hairdresser.
Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Midwinter is not a time when we can visit the Farne Islands, with high tides and unpredictable rough seas off our north-east coast.	Sounding Off Things I am tired of... can you relate?
Country Diary: Bath Colin Luckhurst: Bristol-Bath cycle track was one of the first, and most successful, of the dedicated tracks on which Sustrans and other pressure groups have focused in their efforts to extend...	Country Diary: Strathnairn Ray Collier: During the past few months extensive clear felling has taken place in the strath as conifers have become mature enough to harvest. This is normal procedure with woodland as, after all,...
Pubic Bathrooms Pubic hairs in public bathrooms...I don't know about you, but I am sick of it!	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: First light slants over frost. Like troublesome thoughts, the birds have been pecking at the silence since dark.
Hey Guys Read this please...	Preconcieved thinking about eternity People often "pick and choose" churches & groups that accommodate their preconceived thinking.
On Being A Nerd I know being in all the advanced classes...	Country Diary: Staffordshire Moorlands Roger Redfern: It was a glorious winter morning.
Country Diary: Staffordshire Moorlands Roger Redfern: It was a glorious winter morning.	Country Diary: LongNew Forest Graham Watching deer is a local delight. When I worked in the forest over 50 years ago they were quite difficult to see, let alone to capture on film.
Country Diary: Finistère Colin Luckhurst: European news channels, available by satellite here, all became very excited about the story of a German dog that ate a quantity of yeast which, fermenting in its stomach, made the...	Country Diary: Achvaneran Ray Collier: We share the house with wildlife - some of which are seasonal, some that are permanent and some that can only be described as accidental.
Burning That Bridge Shutting the escape hatch that shouldn't be there…	How Green Is Your Bag? Praise of a couple of moms who want to change the world...
Country Diary: The Burren Sarah Poyntz: Today I walked the coast road towards the Black Head lighthouse, veering off to strike down to the O'Loghlen castle keep by the bay. I saw not a single insect, not even a midge,...	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: Daffodils have been in flower here since Christmas.
Country Diary: North Derbyshire Roger Redfern: No moon, no stars on this January night. Just carpets of cloud vaguely reflecting the glow of the far town.	Country Diary: Tetbury Colin Luckhurst: The turn of the year is not a bad time to have a critical look at the garden, especially if a series of hard frosts have reduced growth and foliage to the cyclical minimum
Country Diary: Highlands Most of the wildlife icons in the Highlands are large and conspicuous, like the salmon leaping over the waterfall or a red grouse on moorland	What’s A New Year’s Resolution? This is how I feel about New Year’s resolutions…lol
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: Emerging from the slow dereliction of beech tree hulks onto the Wrekin's main ridge path, the chances of seeing any kind of sunset on the shortest day seemed remote.	Country Diary: Dorset John Vallins: If you turn west off the Dorchester road out of Sherborne and head for Leigh, you are getting into the haunts of Thomas Hardy's Woodlanders and soon start to pass through mature...
Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Mark Cocker: In the last days of the year I went to pay my respects to the oldest member of our village, a fine old hedgerow oak on the ancient track that leads to Ashby St Mary.	Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Like many of our neighbors, I still have an open fire in my living room and, although I do burn coal, I also gather wood from fallen timber on my daily walk with the dog.
Country Diary: Durham Phil Gates: One of my most poignant memories is of the day when my mother took us back for one last look at the place where she grew up.	Time And The Past Would I kick the butt of my past self?
This Is Not A Poem But A Question I want someone to tell me what they think of this because at this point I’m confused… so please if you could respond please do so…thank you very much	Country Diary: New Forest Graham Long: Holly's role as an essential Christmas decoration for traditionalists is matched by its importance in the ecology of the forest. Just as Christmas loses something special if there are...
Country Diary: Gloucester shire Colin Luckhurst: The big animal story in the county in recent weeks has been the wild boar population in the Forest of Dean.	Country Diary: Merkinch Ray Collier: This is the name of an area in the north-west of the city of Inverness and it is derived from the Gaelic, meaning island or meadow of the horses.
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: "Bird on the horizon, sittin' on a fence, he's singin' a song for me, at his own expense," sang Bob Dylan.	Country Diary: Dorset John Vallins: They say that, in thick fog or after dark, Dorset smugglers used to pinpoint their position on the 29km length of Chesil Bank by the size of the pebbles, which are evenly graded from...
Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Mark Cocker: It was the wigeon that made me think. Hundreds of birds kept rising and wheeling away across the cloudless sky, then they would fly back to the open water, land and, for some unknown...	Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: High seas and a strong northerly wind have recently caused hundreds of baby seals to get blown off the rocks on the Farne Islands
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Sarah Poyntz: A mystery tour.	Country Diary: Bradfield Dale Roger Redfern: A cold and frosty morning began with a bold, red slash across the eastern sky as the sun rose, painting the dale sides with a rose glow.
3 Wishes My thoughts made public…	Country Diary: Tetbury Colin Luckhurst: Some months ago, dinner came in a bucket. Gary, an intermittent golfer in the company who play at midday three days each week on Stinchcombe Hill, had brought me a pailful of...
Country Diary: Ding wall Ray Collier: The scenes at the Dingwall and Highlands Marts, just north of Inverness, looked as if it was business as usual as the small groups of sheep milled around the sales ring.	Country Diary: Cornwall Virginia Spiers: Shoppers throng Truro, trooping along rain-washed granite pavements beside carved gutters gushing with runoff, all overlooked by the cathedral spires, sunlit between heavy showers.
Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: Our village pond is fed by the same stream which was used to power the mill recorded in the Domesday book. In modern times, colonies of ducks have been introduced.	Country Diary: Hickling, Norfolk Mark Cocker: "Quick, red object across the road!" It was hardly the most detailed wildlife description, but I quickly grasped what my friend meant. Suddenly there they loomed, huge and...
Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: A small dark shed in our village which was for many years the blacksmith's forge is now abandoned.	Country Diary: Newcastle upon Tyne Phil Gates: It would be hard to imagine a less likely place to find a kingfisher, but I caught a brief glimpse of one here yesterday, so we came back today to look for it again.
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: For a couple of days the light was far-reaching. A full moon of wild silver: seen on the first night above the cathedral of St Asaph in north Wales and on the second over Wen lock...	Country Diary: Staffordshire Moorlands Roger Redfern: If I had not known otherwise, I would never have suspected the presence of Grindon church (the so-called "cathedral of the moors") the other morning
Country Diary: New Forest Graham Long: For all its new mystique as a national park, the forest is a highly managed landscape.	Country Diary: West Cornwall Colin Luckhurst:In the low angle of morning sunshine in mid-November, and under high barometric pressure which gave a flat sea surface, Mount's Bay looked not unlike an enormous natural amphitheater...
Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: In a farmhouse at Mudford Sock, down by the river Yeo, I asked the farmer, Phillip Snell, what kind of pig it was that had won all those glittering trophies displayed at the far end of...	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Mark Cocker: When I say I can smell winter, I'm not just talking about that curious astringent sensation at the bridge of your nose when you breathe in the sharp ice air.
Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Fallen apples from the trees in my field have been more numerous than usual this autumn.	Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Sarah Poyntz: "A Garden is a love some thing, God wot!", wrote 19th-century poet Thomas E Brown.
Country Diary: Cornwall Virginia Spiers: Pink flowers of campion, fresh stinging nettles and toadstools grow along a splashy bridleway towards the calm sea near Porthleven.	Mobile Phoney The ironic inability to connect in a hyper-wired world.
Country Diary: Bradfield Dale Roger Redfern: It's that time of year again, when long settled periods bring out the best autumn coloring and, scanning the southern and eastern horizons, I see the man made cauliflowers of steam...	My Life Is F'ed Up! I hope this answers all the questions about my life, and stops the complaints about how I shouldn’t hate...
Country Diary: Tyntesfield Colin Luckhurst: My previous visit here fell in the interregnum between the death of Lord Wraxall, the last of the dynasty which had established the house and estate in north Somerset on the wealth...	Country Diary: Strathnairn Ray Collier: A brief survey of the wild fruits and berries in the strath have revealed a shortage of sloes on the blackthorn, mast on the beech trees and almost nonexistent rowan berries.
Jagad Guru Chris Butler: The Body You Have Today Is Not The Body You Had Five Years Ago… An explanation on understanding who you really are.	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge. Paul Evans: The Royal Oak at Cardington claims to be the oldest pub in Shropshire.
Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: We were barely above sea level in the moorland that is bordered by the Polden hills to the south and the Mendips to the north.	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Mark Cocker: Along the lane to the marsh I invariably stop on most autumn mornings at the spot where the hedge is smothered in ivy.
Country Diary: Teesdale Phil Gates: On an unusually mild and windless autumn afternoon, we were hot and breathless by the time we reached the fell above Shipley Wood, so we were glad of the excuse of a fine view to pause...	Country Diary: Teesdale. Phil Gates: We were hot and breathless by the time we reached the fell above Shipley Wood on an unusually mild autumn afternoon, so we were glad of the excuse of a fine view to pause awhile and...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: The woods are misty and wet and many of the taller ash trees which catch the weather have already lost their leaves.	Scaring The Crap Out Of Me With Bowtrol I have been poopin some of the most ugly looking things ever. This is my story on why this is happening.
Country Diary: Langsett Roger Redfern: Days of low, murky cloud brought down light levels to those expected at midwinter.	Country Diary: New Forest Graham Long: The tiny, prettily marked skew bald Shetland pony pawed the ground in restless agitation.
Country Diary: Cromarty Colin Luckhurst: On my only previous visit to the Black Isle I was accommodated in a University of Aberdeen house near Muir of Ord from which, at breakfast time on a spring morning, I had the...	Country Diary: Strathnairn Ray Collier: The visit to the grove of aspen trees was to count them and make a sketch map to see if they would qualify for the new inventory of these trees covering the Highlands.
Country Diary: Tamar Valley Virginia Spiers: A narrow spiral stairway of granite steps rises to a cupboard-like door, opening on to the slated roof of Botus Fleming's church tower.	Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: The highest point of Mendip, at 316m above sea level, Beacon Batch commands the surrounding lowlands through all the points of the compass.
Country Diary: Ilkley, Yorkshire Mark Cocker: The trees were in their autumn beauty, the parkland paths were wet and the light had that sad, slightly opaque quality that only happens as the year dies.	Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Thankful for my waterproof clothing on the open deck of the boat from the town of sea houses to watch wildlife on the Farne Islands, the skipper gave us a running commentary on the...
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Sarah Poyntz: There are no weasels in Ireland. This seems to be a sweeping statement, but of course I refer to our wildlife.	Country Diary: Wen lock Edge Paul Evans:
Country Diary: Bradfield Dale Roger Redfern: A cold, northerly blast at the end of last month brought an early sign of the advancing season.	Country Diary: Tetbury Colin Luckhurst: I was delighted to learn, from a recently delivered regional news update for the West Country from the RSPB, that its work to safeguard the future of the UK's rarest farmland bird...
Country Diary: Highlands Ray Collier: Crimes against wildlife are now so prevalent in various parts of the country that incidents are reported almost every week in the media.	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: Beautiful days with random acts of violence.
Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: A booklet called Walks around Cheddar turned up at the bottom of a pile and drew us towards what the author, Paul Macnab, regards as the outstanding geographical feature not just of...	Flush America is too comfortable, get off the pot...
Country Diary: Combs Edge, Derbyshire Mark Cocker: Suddenly from the last rowan on the hillside rose a long-winged, lean blackbird-like thrush with a call that sounded like stone upon stone.	Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: After a wet summer, we have recently enjoyed several weeks of sunnier weather, and fungi have erupted; but, sadly, no edible mushrooms.
Country Diary: Wylam Phil Gates: Inspired by Jenny Uglow's biography of Thomas Bewick, we spent Saturday morning following in the engraver's footsteps along the banks of the Tyne, from Wylam to Newburn.	Country Diary: Northumberland Virginia Spiers: At the outset we stagger across Hexhamshire Common, buffeted by a south-west gale and accompanied by a shallow rainbow.
Country Diary: Bradfield Dale Roger Redfern: There's something alluring about the British countryside that spells magic to its natives - something, for them, that is quite absent elsewhere on earth.	Country Diary: New Forest Graham Long: Late summer's colors are giving place to autumnal tints. The heath's purple sheen is being succeeded by shades of brown as heather flowers wither and bracken dies back.
Country Diary: Gloucestershire Colin Luckhurst: Here's good news on the nature conservation front.	Country Diary: Strathnairn Ray Collier: For the past few months road casualties along the half mile stretch of minor road between the house and Gask Burn have included toads, sometimes one or two a day.
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: The hawk lands in a small tree.	Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: I went to revisit the local flock of Grey face Dart moor sheep on a warm, dry morning.
Country Diary: Norfolk Mark Cocker: Just as I was pouring the coffee I spotted it - a strange, hunched presence on the lawn that immediately had me dashing for the telescope and tripod.	Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: The herd of Chillingham wild white cattle are the sole survivors of their species to remain purebred.
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Sarah Poyntz: They came in a pack, the thieves, stealing everything they deemed to be of value.	Country Diary: Wen lock Edge Paul Evans: If the Wrekin were a ship and not a mountain, the Little Hill at its southern end would be the prow, cutting through the line of the Stretton Fault towards the hills of south Shropshire.
Country Diary: Brad field Dale Roger Redfern: This deep valley of north-eastern Peak land seems to be slumbering just now, resigned to the fate of autumn's onset: earlier sundowns, few birds singing, the moorland rills almost...	Country Diary: Finistère Colin Luckhurst: The Azores high edged into the continental landmass and gave us a period of splendid late summer weather of sunlight, warmth, and light winds.
Country Diary: Dundonell Ray Collier: It seemed a long way to go to see a single tree but it is a very special tree, the famous Dundonnell yew.	Country Diary: Dorset Virginia Spiers: Fresh green tendrils and silky flowers of traveler's joy overgrow elderberries, sloes and buddleia in the valley bottom leading towards the Purbeck coast.
Country Diary: Dorset John Vallins: The great park of the Stock Gaylard estate near the village of King's Stag in Dorset is dotted with venerable trees.	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Mark Cocker: The most recent modification to our garden's architecture is a small plywood circle fitted into a wooden plinth beneath the lilac tree.
Country Diary : Northumberland Veronica Heath: Swifts and swallows are busy sweeping over my lawn, constantly returning to their old clay nests in the eaves of this house, where they must by now have hatched a second brood.	A Delicious Bit of Intrigue Please rate and vote on my work...
Country Diary: Northumberland Phil Gates: Like many others, we headed for the beach on the bank holiday, so we had to pick our way through the sunbathers, beach-cricket players and kite fliers who had been driven on to a...	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: I'm sitting, lolling really, in a tree. It stands in an old hedge-line on top of a small bank that may have been raised during the middle ages, perhaps earlier. On my side of the hedge...
Country Diary: Bradfield Dale Roger Redfern: The stiff westerly breeze maintained a lovely freshness despite brilliant sunshine in a cloudless sky.	Country Diary: New Forest Graham Long: Two colors predominate across the forest at this time of year, pushing greens and browns into the background.
Country Diary: Gloucestershire Colin Luckhurst: The public footpath from Tetbury to Westonbirt, a distance of about four miles, fringes the western side of the Highgrove estate. We often use a stretch of this for an afternoon...	Country Diary: Highlands Ray Collier: Before refrigeration, the food for most people was seasonal, although some food could be kept if dried, salted or pickled. A wider variety of food was available to the rich because of...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: I've just come back from camping in what the sculptor Barbara Hepworth called "the pagan landscape between Penzance and Land's End".	The Gods Universal!!! Is God real??
Peace by 2027 A serious plan....	Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: I was late arriving at the Pen Selwood horse show and the loudspeaker was already announcing an early prizewinner:
Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Mark Cocker: On the face of it, the poplar hawkmoth might seem an uninspiring little creature. Aside from a tiny triangle of fox red on the underwing, it's almost entirely different shades of grey....	Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Weeks of wet weather last month has had a devastating effect on some soft fruits and vegetables, especially strawberries and potatoes.
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Sarah Poyntz: One of the best things about the Burren is the frequency with which we come upon small rock gardens.	Country Diary: Cornwall Virginia Spiers: Two miles upstream from Bude Haven a fisherman sits on the grassy wharf, overlooking water lilies and shielded by willows from the "Atlantic Highway" - the A39. Close by,...
Country Diary: Staffordshire Moorlands Roger Redfern: In hot sunny weather, the Dane Valley, in south-western Peakland, can be very oppressive, with its dark, hanging woods and rank bankside flora.	Josh Dinnerman It is all about the relationship between Josh (Dinnerman) and me (Sunil) that starts from a wrong phone call.
Country Diary: Gloucestershire Colin Luckhurst: My last meeting with Matthew Oates, the National Trust's butterfly specialist, was in June last year when he took me to a south-facing combe on the edge of Rodborough Common to see...	Country Diary: Achvaneran Ray Collier: Wildlife mysteries are always intriguing, and perhaps even more so when they are on your doorstep and you see them every day. Several weeks ago the swifts turned up again and each day...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Paul Evans: Whatever the calendar says, it feels like autumn. The nights and early mornings have that chill, the day's sunshine has a clear, clean brightness and the air has a delicious autumnal edge.	Country Diary: Somerset John Vallins: The whaleback outline of Creech Hill, crested with two copses, forms the backdrop to life in the town of Bruton, but when we headed north towards Batcombe that familiar outline was...
Country Diary: North Ronaldsay Mark Cocker: This tiny spot of flower-rich pasture, low-slung stone farmhouses and rocky shoreline is the most northerly of the Orkney archipelago and has to be one of the most atmospheric islands...	I Need Your Opinion Really…may be its not an important matter to you but it’s necessary for me so I am waiting for your comment because also its my first trying to write.
Country Diary: Northumberland Veronica Heath: Fifty years ago, hen harriers were not uncommon in this county. I remember accompanying my father in the north Tyne valley, the Simonside hills and on Longframlington moor to record...	He Brings Me A Lot Of Pain And Trouble I fell in love with him and he made me change, and he changed everything around me…
Country Diary: Derwent Valley, Gateshead Phil Gates: When we arrived, the red kite was no more than a dot on the southern horizon. It circled closer and finally made a slow fly-past in front of the small group gathered around the Kite...	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge A sighting of the serpent is always exciting but this time it brings real drama to a quiet summer afternoon. By Paul Evans
Country Diary: Langsett From the heather beds atop Hartcliff I looked out to the north to see a wide sky filled with languid rolls of steel grey cloud, not a speck of blue peeping through or a single sunbeam slanting down...	Country Diary: New Forest With low-hanging grey skies, Anses Wood on the slopes below Cadman's Pool had an oppressive air. By Graham Long
Country Diary: Gloucestershire An unremitting media focus on the flooding in Gloucester center and Tewkesbury has resulted in a flood of telephone, email and personal queries on our health, fitness and survival in this unusual...	Country Diary: Achvaneran Wildlife - such as insects, mice and occasionally birds - frequently comes into our house from the strath, but sometimes it is different. By Ray Collier
Country Diary: Somerset News of floods covering whole stretches of the country, cutting off transport and disrupting thousands of lives gave a new perspective to a conversation I had already had about the effect of June's...	Country Diary: Ring of Brodgar, Orkney It comprises just 21 free-standing stones, yet it vies with the 5,000-year-old Neolithic village at Skara Brae or even Kirkwall's St Magnus Cathedral as the most celebrated structure in this...
Country Diary: Northumberland This is a county where there are castles, pele towers, old bastle buildings (fortified farmhouses) and miles of dry-stone walls stretching up steep hills and down into some of the wild valleys. By...	Don't Hurt My Feelings or: Those who say that they are not politically correct in fact are…
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland During the recent rainy season I decided to take a quick walk up our back road, beyond Cappanawalla Mountain. By Sarah Poyntz	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge On a bright, sunny day, the flowery rough of woodland edge and uncultivated fields are full of butterflies which have managed to survive the monsoons. By Paul Evans
Country Diary: North Derbyshire It was a surprising afternoon, all the more remarkable for its brilliant sunlight punctuated by the iridescence of towering cumulus clouds after days of sullen grey and slanting showers. By Roger...	Country Diary: Finistere Memory tells me that steam locomotives could only manage gradients that did not exceed 1:88. By Colin Luckhurst
Country Diary: Highlands The man with the metal detector - they call themselves "detectorists" these days - found a flat piece of metal in a field. By Ray Collier	The Man who Lost Everything This article is about a true person who had learned a life lesson the hard way and it ends up causing him his life.
Country Diary: Somerset News stories had told of thousands of homes flooded in the north, and of 40 families made homeless in Gloucester. By John Vallins	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk This month I made my maiden voyage into the pleasures of the moth trap. Basically, it involves a wooden box crowned by a bright light. By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland The damp summer has been beneficial to our small kitchen garden, although weeds in the flower borders have flourished and are keeping me busy. By Veronica Heath	I Had A Dream It was pretty funny. It had nothing to do with tea parties.
Country Diary: Weardale It was the largest collection of fairy bonnets that we had ever seen. Row upon row, tier upon tier of conical toadstool caps, each about the size of a thumbnail, smothering a rotten tree stump. By...	Dear Pyramid, thou art out ! As an Egyptian, I was heartbroken to know that the Great Pyramid of Giza is now out of the seven wonders list. I am not writing this to whine or protest, I am just
Hate Emos Read This This is a poem that I found and it made me cry so I thought that I would put this on the website because everyone should have the right to live their life the way they want to…	Country Diary: New Forest Nearly 2000 years ago, the naturalist JL Knapp, writing from Gloucestershire, noted that different nature lovers will have similar ideas but the varying times and places of their observations will...
So Distant Take it for yourself...	Country Diary: Finistere A couple of days before leaving for the Breton fastness I thought it sensible to collect and freeze the soft fruit available at this early point in the season. By Colin Luckhurst
Country Diary: Foyers Ever since the Highlands began to attract tourists in the 18th century this village on the edge of Loch Ness, 19 miles south west of Inverness, has had many visitors. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Apart from the wheezing scream of a few swifts racing with inspiring recklessness over the rooftops and the treacly-thick deep green of the vegetation, it's hard to believe this is summer and the...
Country Diary: Dorset It was well before the deluge, but already, at the summer solstice, a grey morning looked unpromising for the enthusiasts assembling at Stonehenge, Glastonbury and Avebury, while we set off to visit...	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Don't you think it strange how, once we're put in control of a lawnmower, we instantly become a devotee of the Greek deity Apollo? By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland The recent heavy rain has had a serious effect on wildlife. Last week, I found that two muddy clay nests had finally collapsed from under the eaves of this old house, where swifts and house martins...	Belief A brief compilation of my thoughts on belief…
Country Diary: The Burran, Ireland I am somewhat wary of butterflies and moths. This wariness originated in upstate New York while following an Indian trail. I reported my sighting to Mary Ann of a butterfly, "large, wide...	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Rain beats on the roof above me. Rain races down the windows. The wind is getting up again and trees sway wildly, hissing in the downpour. By Paul Evans
Native Americans to me. . . I am part Native American and I would like to tell you how much I am proud of it.	I Hate That Stupid Dog! The thing bit my cats leg and now shes in the hospital!
Country Diary: North Derbyshire Walking down a narrow green lane near home the other evening my eyes fell upon a mass of common horsetail (Equisetum arvense) that covered the ground falling away to dark shadow, and that quite...	Country Diary: Wiltshire The National Trust has had Lacock Abbey since 1946, when Matilda Talbot, the lineal descendant of William Fox Talbot, photographic pioneer and all round Victorian good egg, gifted the estate and...
Country Diary: Gask Burn My daily walk from the house to Gask Burn and back with the two miniature dachshunds, Sgeir and Jilly, is only just over a mile but there is always something to see. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Cornwall Orchids, growing with yellow rattle, survive in a meadow beneath Hingston Down, uphill from Cotehele valley where woodland glades are thick with regenerated foxgloves. By Virginia Spiers
Country Diary: Somerset We joined a large and attentive crowd at the Bath and West show to watch the farrier making horseshoes - his craft is much in demand in this horse-riding country. Four patient horses stood in a row....	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk In the Yare valley the only thing to break the absolute flatness of the marsh is the network of gates and upright posts, which give access to every field. By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland Early this month I walked along a track which sweeps down below the walls of Berwick Castle to meet the river Tweed from the hilltop above. By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: Wensleydale We set out early to walk the entire course of the river Bain, which is not as energetic an undertaking as it might sound: this is the shortest river in England, flowing two and half miles from...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge As I look down on the countryside from an airplane - something I usually curse for their noise and pollution - the landscapes blend senselessly one into another. By Paul Evans	I Love France Of course, I am part French and so there for I have a right to love it.
Country Diary: Longdendale It seems intolerable that we are soon to pass the longest day. The freedom of bright early dawns and sunlight well towards midnight imparts a feeling that we have all the time in the world. By Roger...	Why we still hate the Germans "The Polish hate the Germans more than our grandfathers who actually fought Hitler. The truth is that we will never live up to their heroism," writes Joseph Benson.
Country Diary: Sark, Channel Islands A jolting trailer ride makes easy the steep ascent from Maseline Harbour to the centre of this small island. From the top, flower-lined lanes fan out, enticing walkers to stop and admire both color...	Country Diary: Tetbury The ongoing BBC2 evening programme Springwatch sings a delightfully upbeat song on the status of wildlife in the UK, which is, I suppose, quite easy if you base consideration on an organic farm in...
Country Diary: Strathnairn In the last few years many trees have been felled in the strath so that people could sell off plots of land for building houses. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge What is it about water? When the weather is bad we grumble about it. When the weather is good we go looking for it. By Paul Evans
Is It Possible? A person being prostituted illegally on a porn site in a different country - without their knowledge and against their will.	Country Diary: Boscastle, Cornwall Just south of this now-famous village are the remains of several derelict mines. By Mark Cocker
Procrastination Postponement and waste of time...	Country Diary: Northumberland Last week I attended the annual general meeting of our county's branch of the Wildlife Trust, which is well supported here and has many enthusiastic volunteers. By Veronica Heath
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland This morning I sat on our garden bench facing the stile that leads into our front field. This gives an excellent view of the bay, Ballyvaughan Bay within Galway Bay. By Sarah Poyntz	Country Diary: Cornwall At Helston's Furry Day, bluebells, prickly yellow gorse and greenery bedecked doorways and windows along the route of the traditional dances. By Virginia Spiers
Country Diary: Anglesey The long dry spell that lasted right through April certainly encouraged the maritime flora into early blooming. By Roger Redfern	Country: Finistere By way of underlining my not infrequent assertion that wildlife does rather better here than it does in most of the UK, I must tell you about a day which just preceded our return to the misty...
Why I Love Being Indian It rocks!	Country Diary: Strathnairn There are signs that the numbers of badgers in the Highlands are increasing despite suffering a heavy death toll on some main roads. Ray Collier
Why We Still Hate The British Army See, I am Indo-European. I have an interest in being Asian. I don’t like what the British did to India.	I Hate Being Irish! It sucks!
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Fat-bottomed clouds sail through a brightening sky and the swifts climb up to meet them. There are fewer swifts each year - screaming over the rooftops and flinging themselves from around the church...	My Future Through Tears I wrote this before 'Suddenly Over'...
Country Diary: Somerset For nearly three weeks, two red-legged partridges have been pottering about the garden. Wikipedia describes the red-legged partridge as a rotund bird which tends to run rather than fly. By John...	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk Buttercups. Even the name hints at luxury. One wonders also if the associations with cattle and milk - since they were so often the dominant flowers in cow pasture - were deliberate. By Mark Cocker
I Just Found Out, I’m Portuguese! The only problem is that I don’t know anything about Portugal.	Why We Still Hate The US Army You see, I have Native Norwegian ancestors who were in America at the time. They almost had to leave!
I Just Found Out, I’m Native! But I have NO idea what tribe I’m from!	Country Diary: Northumberland The herd of wild goats in the Cheviot hills and the border fells of Kielder Forest are believed to have begun under the aegis of the monks of Holy Island, who had a chapel at Memmerkirk in the heart...
Use The Mic When we are part of the problem we have to be aware, and make a transition into becoming part of the solution…	Country Diary: Weardale After the trudge down from the fell tops, we sank down wearily to eat our sandwiches among the dandelions. By Phil Gates
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge It's raining; in fact it's monsooning down. It seems that April's showers, and March's and February's dyke-filling rain too, are all falling at once. Gutters are guttural, drains swill and the river...	Country Diary: Derbyshire The heavy showers that fell earlier this month brought to life the colours on the lanesides here on the flanks of the south Pennines. Crossing the valley fields, I passed banks of stitchwort, the...
Country Diary: New Forest From a distance the open heaths look without colour. The drying winds and unseasonal warmth have sucked the moisture out of them. By Graham Long	Country Diary: Finistere We arrived to find the arum lily by the front door in full flower with a backing of the bush fuschia with its scarlet bells. By Colin Luckhurst
Country Diary: Strathnairn There are 14 large nest boxes in the strath and, in the last few years, they have been occupied by a range of large-hole nesting birds. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Cornwall Seawards of Delabole's deep quarry, stunted trees of May blossom lean away from the coast, shading the ferny lane to Treligga. By Virginia Spiers
Country Diary: Dorset In February I wrote about Bradford Hollow, a sandstone tunnel on the edge of Yeovil. By John Vallins	Country Diary: Roaches Hall, Staffordshire The steep west-facing ridge of gritstone monoliths known as the Roaches is now a famous spot with walkers and climbers. By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland Years ago I inherited a Geordie proggy mat from my parents, and it lay in front of our Aga in the kitchen for 20 years until it finally succumbed to wear and tear from feet, children, dogs and...	Country Diary: The Burren and Achill Island, Ireland North we went to spend a few days on Achill Island (it is joined to the mainland). By Sarah Poyntz
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge The morning breeze lifts a drifting sleet, not of snowflakes but fairies. These are millions of dandelion seeds, each with a pappus - a cluster of tiny feather sails - that catches the breeze and...	Country Diary: Southern Snowdonia Standing high above the Cardigan Bay coast, I looked at the brilliant promise of an April morning out across miles of scintillating aquamarine towards the pencil line of the Llyn peninsula. By Roger...
Looking for Missing Persons Finding missing people who may have been injured and unable to get help.	Country Diary: Gloucestershire Water conservation in terms of reservoir capacity has, historically, been predicated on the assumption that rain will fall at all stages of the year over most of the UK. By Colin Luckhurst
Terrorism A short write up…	Teens-N-Parents Synopsis of teens…
Country Diary: Loch Garten The scene from the RSPB hide could have been the same as last year, almost to the day, as the six-year-old female osprey sat contently on her nest. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Rain came hesitantly, reluctantly, but at least it came. After weeks and weeks of hot, dry weather, a coy shower or two has damped the dust down and sparkles on emerging foliage. By Paul Evans
Country Diary: Somerset Like every country show I had been to, the Sunday morning bird auction was welcoming to all comers, though it was clear that this one was the gathering of a clan to which I was not qualified to...	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk A broken pantile in the roof above my office means that each spring a pair of starlings uses it as a nest hole. By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland Our parish church, like thousands of others, is used for regular worship. For more than 800 years parishioners have been baptised, instructed, confirmed, married and buried here. By Veronica Heath	What Is Body? Body, Mind & Spirit excerpt from Bill Crimi's Basic Health and Fitness.
Country Diary: The Stang We sat on the soft, mossy carpet on the precipice of Hope Scar, sun on our backs, wind in our faces, with the Stang forest's regimented ranks of spruces below. Beyond lay fields and white-painted...	Identity Stolen Forged Identities…
Country Diary: Cornwall Although I have been indoors for most of Easter week, brief forays outside reveal a dry and sunny landscape. By Virginia Spiers	Country Diary: Staffordshire Moorlands Though spring is now in full swing, certain features of former seasons are in ever shorter supply. By Roger Redfern
My Scared Memory This is another descriptive piece I would like you to read and comment…	My Happy Memory This is a memory which I would like you to read and comment…
Country Diary: New Forest With grey overcast sky and slight mistiness we set out mid-morning along the Ashley Walk. By Graham Long	Country Diary: Wiltshire The Malmesbury swans have moved. Who knows what drives humankind to up sticks and remove, and even more mysterious are the compulsions on wildlife. The swans have been a summertime entertainment for...
Country Diary: Isle of Skye How encouraging to see the latest initiative to get youngsters involved in wildlife coming from the International Otter Survival Fund, based on this island off the west coast of Scotland. By Ray...	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge The tractor ploughs downhill, too close, it seems to me, to a tall oak tree, a lone survivor of an ancient hedgeline which stands in the open field like an exclamation mark. By Paul Evans
Writers and Editors Notifying editors in a timely manner.	Country Diary: Somerset Walkers pass along the tracks and footpaths that cross a stretch of farmland by Carymoor below Castle Cary, where the river Cary and a tributary called Back Brook flow. By John Vallins
Country Diary: Norfolk It was so bright it could have been a flower at my feet. It was a rook's eggshell - a delicate green-blue wash overlain with brown markings, sparse at the broad "top" but intensifying into...	Toxic Gas Fumes I was affected by a poison gas from the underground.
Country Diary: Northumberland Although I am an enthusiastic cook, I do not attempt to bake my own bread. More of us might do so if we felt that it was a practical proposition and not a lengthy, mysterious process, demanding...	Country Diary: The Burren and Clew Bay On a two-day break up by Clew Bay in County Mayo we did a grand walk on an old railway track towards the foothills of the mountain, Croagh Patrick, with its high, rounded summit, the sun so...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge The narrow path across a wheat field rises to a stile where the step has fallen off and the way through almost shouldered out by a hedge.	Country Diary: Anglesey It was a sort of pilgrimage. Since my friend Sir Kyffin William's death last September I had not been near the island's north-western corner, but now we came down the secret network of winding lanes...
Country Diary: Gloucestershire Livestock farmers know that there are certain key stages of the year when you need to get it right if the rest of the season is to yield a marketable result. By Colin Luckhurst	Country Diary: Loch Ruthven This freshwater loch, about 12 miles south of Inverness, is the most important British site for breeding Slavonian grebes, and the reason for my visit last week was to see if the birds had arrived...
Country Diary: Cornwall Pyramids and plastic facepacks of creamy cauliflowers were interspersed with tiers of perfect camellia blooms at the 83rd West Cornwall Spring Show at Penzance, a week before the recent icy blast of...	Country Diary: Dorset The road between Wincanton and Sherborne passes between a variety of banks and hedges that divide it from fields on both sides which are mostly grazed by sheep. By John Vallins
Country Diary: Wayland, Norfolk Whenever I hear the term "ancient wood", I can't resist a mental picture of great-limbed veterans heavy with the years and widely spaced like old...By Mark Cocker	Veronica Heath: Northumberland I am saddened by the amount of litter I see which has been thrown from cars, and perhaps from a few cyclists, on to our country roadsides. By Veronica Heath
Country Diary: Weardale One of the benefits of living in hill country is that it only takes a short walk up the fellside to extend the seasons. By Phil Gates	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge This has been a spring of moments, so far: the moment blackbirds began singing, way back in what should have been winter; the moment bumble...By Paul Evans
Country Diary: Derbyshire After a morning of heavy rain the clouds parted as our train shot south out of the south Pennine foothills to let late, low-angled sunshine light the gentle green valley. By Roger Redfern	Everlasting Gossip Stoppers If we can condition our mindset and attitude, we have won half the battle in the subject of gossip
Country Diary: New Forest The half-metre-high pile had three large pits dug into its surface. Each held a mass of teeming reddish-brown insects.	Country Diary: Gloucestershire The birdsong of spring, whether or not birds know that global warming is making things earlier, continues to be a delight. By Colin Luckhurst
Country Diary: Coignafearn There are many reasons why this part of Strathdearn is so fascinating. The river Findhorn is the dominant feature and, as I stood on the north bank last week...By Ray Collier	Costa del Sol Vacation Rentals Quiz Free Prize Draw Quiz. Your chance to win a copy of , "Rough Guide to Andalucia"
Country Diary: Southern Brazil Big and brown and powerful and lovely, the beetle from Ipanema goes walking, and no one it passes takes any notice of it at all. By Paul Evans	Country Diary: The Severn Somerset rivers tend to meander indecisively for much of their length across the flat central lowlands. By John Vallins
Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk In our parish I usually know whenever a female sparrowhawk is passing overhead because she triggers a boiling clamour of rook calls and jackdaw ...By Mark Cocker	Country Diary: Northumberland Our sea coast is still very cold at this time of year, but I do enjoy a walk at one of our harbours where fishermen and ornithologists are already busy, preparing for a new season. By Veronica Heath
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland He has such delightful curls on his forehead. He has taken up residence in the field next to ours. His offspring often lie beside him. By Sarah Poyntz	Country Diary: Tamar Valley Clear spells, between bouts of rain and wind, reveal the progression of the strengthening sun towards the equinox. By Virginia Spiers
Living Well is the Best Revenge This article is about an extraordinary divorce group that was led by a unique psychologist named Skylar Moon, and the moral of the story applies universally.	When Old times turn to new…
Country Diary: South Shropshire My Brazilian friend looked at a map and declared Ludlow too small a place to make an interesting base from which to explore the Welsh Marches. By Roger Redfern	If I Had The Power, The Things I Would Do Living in a fantasy and wishing if we ever had the power for one day, the things we would do and change.
Country Diary: Tetbury The publication last month of the National Trust report, Shifting Shores - living with a changing coastline, attracted a lot of attention and hit the spot for me. By Colin Luckhurst	Country Diary: River Nairn The rain was fine, almost mist-like, a speciality of the Highlands that ignores any waterproofs. By Ray Collier
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge It is a bright, hopeful day with bursts of unusually warm sunshine and clear, still air. It is a day for preparation ...By Paul Evans	Country Diary: Dorset Parkstone golf club has long preserved and nurtured a surviving stretch of heath and wetland hemmed in by residential suburbs and lying at sea level ...By John Vallins
As Simple as I Can This is a song that I wrote personally...	Country Diary: Lynford, Norfolk A friend of mine put it best: he said winter lasted about six hours where he lived. By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland Walking on Cragside moor, which lies above the river Coquet, I made my way to Moss Lake. By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: Weardale This is a restless, impatient time of year for field naturalists waiting for spring. By Phil Gates
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge A pair of ravens flies south-west above the woods which plunge down from the Edge. By Paul Evans	Country Diary: Staffordshire Moorlands The other morning I crossed Wetton Hill and Ecton Hill to climb up the oozing pastures towards Warslow, high on the slopes of these western uplands...By Roger Redfern
Country Diary: New Forest An obdurate pony blocking the road, and a pair of roe deer that sped down the mossy slope before pausing to study me, delayed my arrival at Castle Hill ...By Graham Long	Country Diary: Tetbury Fosse Way, the old Roman road which rides the limestone ridge for most of its distance from Exeter to Lincoln...By Colin Luckhurst
The Rag-Doll Boy Everything is boring. Everyday commuting is a pain. Everyday, the Rag-Doll boy is watching me. Until one day... the Rag-Doll boy moves.	Country Diary: Strathnairn The mystery of the red squirrels continues. This attractive mammal was reintroduced into the Highlands at the Beaufort estate, near Inverness...By Ray Collier
Country Diary: Tamar Valley A band of azure, streaked by condensation trails, overarches the gloomy rain-soaked land, momentarily lit by patches of sunlight. By Virginia Spiers	Country Diary: Somerset Despite a lovely, perpendicular church, buttressed and pinnacled, and some stately Georgian town houses, Yeovil is a country town better known for ...By John Vallins
"Am I In Love?" I think I’m over Phillip and ready to get back with someone special to me like my best friend, and now boyfriend Dan. Please comment…	Country Diary: Claxton As I left the house I had to sidestep a tortoiseshell butterfly sitting forlornly on our doormat. By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland There is a bitter wind here, straight off the Cheviot hills, which have a covering of snow, although we still only have severe morning frosts. By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland It was riding the air between two very high, snow-capped mountains, its great wings scarcely moving, its breast gold and bronze in the sun. By Sarah Poyntz
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Rooks file roostwards across a full moon rising in the north-east. By Paul Evans	Country Diary: North Derbyshire It seemed to me that global warming had been confirmed when I looked out the other morning to see a duck-billed platypus on the grass behind the...By Roger Redfern
Just A Thought (1): Sleepless "One rainy night….."	Country Diary: Finistare We were greeted, on our arrival at the Breton fastness, by mimosas on the lane in full flower. A glorious blaze of canary-yellow blossom against the dull ...By Colin Luckhurst:
Country Diary: Strathnairn The snow came last week and transformed the strath with the whiteness covering the lower ground, the hills and the woodland floor under the birch and rowan trees. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge The gardens and backlands of Wenlock - full of snowdrops, hellebores and daffodils in full flower - are alive with the songs of robins. By Paul Evans
Country Diary: Somerset Gusts of wind woke us by rattling our roof tiles and snapping branches off trees, but the storms did not strike this locality...By John Vallins	Mike and Patsy - the second installment... More zany adventures of Mike and Patsy...
Country Diary: Nkob, Morocco It's 28 years since I last visited this place, which is famous as the town with more kasbahs (fortified houses) than any other in the country. By Mark Cocker	A Future Through Tears Just something I wrote one night it's nothing special but I hope someone might enjoy it…
Country Diary: Warkworth Like many naturalists, I have a collector's instinct which, had I lived a century ago, probably would have manifested itself as drawers of ...By Phil Gates	Country Diary: Tamar Valley Downriver from the Hooe meander, exposed Thorn Point is strewn with seaweed, the strand littered with driftwood, cabbage leaves... By Virginia Spiers
Velvet Lips of a Vampire Aidan was the average girl and she had the normal life, until she became a rebel and met four guys that changed her life in more ways than they'll ever know.	Country Diary: Regent's Park Regent's Park may not be the heart of the country, but on a recent late afternoon my friend Rafael and I traversed the open spaces...By Roger Redfern
Country Diary: New Forest After days of leaden skies and heavy rain there was a dramatic change on Sunday. By Graham Long	Country Diary: Appleby-in-Westmorland The village of Hilton owes its solid construction to the lead mining that flourished here for centuries and left a building heritage which has since been almost completely gentrified. By Colin...
Country Diary: Highlands An unopposed last-minute amendment to the aquaculture and fisheries bill has been passed through the Scottish parliament, and ...By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge It was the damp, uniform grey that turned a string of days into a dismal institution. By Paul Evans
Country Diary: Wiltshire Maiden Bradley is the traditional seat of the dukes of Somerset, but its community-owned village shop has to be briskly alive to modern needs and...By John Vallins	Country Diary: Cley-next-the-Sea As I sat in the famous Daukes hide at this even more famous Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve, I reflected that it was...By Mark Cocker
Country Diary: Northumberland For hundreds of years men, and ponies, have been employed in coal pits and drift mines in this county. By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Stormy weather and there I was, surrounded by frills, flounces, fringes and furbelows. By Sarah Poyntz
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Walking up the hogsback ridge of The Wrekin during the late afternoon, there was no indication that there might be a sunset. By Paul Evans	Country Diary: Wortley After the endless gloom at the end of the year, New Year's Day dawned bright, the sky of palest duck-egg blue and punctuated with skeins of silky cloud ...By Roger Redfern
Country Diary: Gloucestershire As we returned late, from Oxford, a large dog fox walked slowly across the road just at the point where we were re-entering the county. By Colin Luckhurst	Ana & Mia go to school A satirical, fictitious glance into the world of two stereotypical teenagers of today. Submitted for my GCSE English coursework, I thought I’d share it with you.
Country Diary: Dores Signs of spring take a long time coming in the Highlands but this year has been different as the silver male catkin buds...By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Cornwall In prevailing dullness, soft mosses glow bright green against the leaf mould in Bowdanoddon wood, on the sheltered eastern flank of...
Country Diary: The Otway Ranges, Australia We had planned to travel some 300km north-east of Melbourne to Mount Buffalo, but the...	Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk At dusk it was the murder scene in the woods that got me ...
Country Diary: Northumberland I slowed down and I was looking at a buzzard. I was surprised, because the last one I saw was...By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: Co Durham With the winter solstice so recent, there was no need to get out of bed early to watch this morning's sunrise. By Phil Gates
Stopping horse slaughter Between 65,000 and 100,000 horses are slaughtered in the United States each year. In Canada the number is around 62,000. Most of the meat processed is sold for human consumption in Europe and Asia....	The greenest cars Honda and Toyota models led the pack as the world s greenest automobiles for 2006. Pictured here is the Toyota hybrid Prius.
Rainforest medicinals Logging in rainforests, along with other destructive commercial activities, render some 137 species of plants and animals extinct every day. As rainforest species continue to disappear, so will many...	Versatile and green-friendly hemp The Declaration of Independence and the first American flag were both made from hemp, a plant that is now illegal to grow in the United States because, though smoking it cannot get you "high...
Avoiding toxic hair care products Ecocolors hair dye is made with a soy and flax base, and uses rosemary extract as a hair conditioner.	Is hydrogen safe? The cause of the Hindenburg accident was not hydrogen but an electrostatic charge that ignited the blimp’s highly flammable waterproof skin, made from a mixture of lacquer and metal-based paints...
The perils of outdoor wood furnace boilers Wood smoke is a complex mixture of carbon monoxide and other organic gases, particulate matter, chemicals and some inorganic gases. Some of these compounds, such as aldehydes and phenols, are toxic,...	Finding green-friendly holiday gifts A number of online merchants offer green-friendly items for the holidays--from clothes, bed-and-bath and organic baby products, to food, the latest books and "gifts that give back" such as...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Fog, frost and fox is an exciting mixture for the senses...	Country Diary: New Forest The pigs were a surprise. Two large rich-brown beasts were snout deep in the ditch, sifting through the decaying leaves in search of acorns. By Graham Long
Country Diary Day temperatures scarcely rise a couple of degrees above freezing as I take my regular bike ride, an eight-mile circuit over quiet lanes...By Colin Luckhurst	Country Diary: Loch Farr The loch lies a few miles south of Inverness and is in the bottom of an amphitheatre formed by surrounding woodland and the snow-capped...By Ray Collier
Country Diary: Somerset Sturminster Newton's cattle market used to be one of the largest in the country. By John Vallins	Country Diary: Norfolk Whenever I go down to the Yare, I always make for the same spot: the red-brick block which houses the only water pump on these levels and the one ...By Mark Cocker
Wake up Call! This article challenges individuals to wake up to the reality that life is passing them by, more quickly than they realize. It asks a couple of pointed questions.	Country Diary: Northumberland Barn owls used to be resident in my parish, both in the church tower, and in a disused barn attached to farm buildings. By Veronica Heath
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Up we went, the first 15 minutes of our climb being the most difficult - it seemed almost vertical to me! By Sarah Poyntz	Country Diary: Tamar Valley Gushing springs and turbulent water converge towards the tidal river. Fields are waterlogged and streams have burst their banks...By Virginia Spiers
Country Diary: Salford Looking out from my friend's ninth floor flat in the dead of night, I could have been in any of dozens of great world cities. By Roger Redfern	Country Diary: Pembrokeshire The annual conference of the West Portholland Literary and Philosophical Society (corresponding members in all parts) was held this autumn far from ...By Colin Luckhurst
Country Diary: Highlands Once you get known as a naturalist, then people ask you to identify things, and this can be by descriptions or by bodies. Descriptions are difficult as people see things in different ways. By Ray...	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Under cover of darkness, a gale heaves over the hills and comes crashing through, ramming up the vales, screaming through the trees. By Paul Evans
Country Diary: Dorset I went down towards Bulbarrow to a dairy farm worked by Nick Tuke, a young county tenant farmer, and his wife, Marilyn, with one helper on one day a week. By John Vallins	Country Diary: Wheatacre, Norfolk Beyond the A143 to Yarmouth is a spur of "upland" - a relative term, since it's no more than 20 metres high - bounded to the south, north and east by a long snaking bend of the river...
Country Diary: Northumberland After a mild autumn, winter is now on its way here; local bird tables are being replenished, but avian guests have been slow in coming forward. By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: Weardale Just when it seemed that this mild autumn might never end, a sudden drop in temperature dusted the fell tops with snow, delivering a reminder of colder months to come. By Phil Gates
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge After days of callow weather slinking around the hills, and rain to make people stoop but rivers surge, the threats of storms came to nowt and the sun came out. By Paul Evans	Country Diary: North-east Cheshire To someone like me who follows form, the recent death of Desert Orchid is a great sadness. By Roger Redfern
Internet citizenship is being sold on eBay Have you heard something about Internet Citizenship? It appears that you can buy it now on eBay auction.	Unbeatable, Money-Making Features Get Rich Quick Scams Revealed. Read this article before you consider paying for a "get rich quick" program.
Country Diary: New Forest The ponies are looking good. The prominent ribbiness at last winter's end held on, for some, well into the summer.	Country Diary: Exmoor I will not be surprised if it has, so far, escaped your attention that this is national tree week. The Tree Council and the National Trust, acting in concert, identified 10 of the best properties...
Country Diary: Farr Several years ago there were only two thatched cottages left in the village, and both were covered with corrugated iron sheets. By Ray Collier	Which is faster texting? Do you prefer T9 or ABC?
Country Diary: Peak District On the limestone and millstone grit and at home, on shale and granite, fields are still green, vivid against late autumn colours. By Virginia Vallins	Country Diary: Somerset Thomas Hardy's poem, In Time of "The Breaking of Nations", pictures "a man harrowing clods" in the Wessex landscape, apparently untouched by international conflict. By John Vallins
Doing without flame retardants Fire-retardant chemicals can easily "off-gas" from the very products -- like kids pajamas -- that they are designed to make safe.	Individual actions to help stop global warming A walk to the store will do you good--while keeping climate-altering greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere.
Save the Environment: Support your local Carwash Washing our cars in our driveways sends gasoline, oil and residues from exhaust fumes into rivers, streams, creeks and wetlands where it poisons aquatic life and wreaks other ecosystem havoc.	Sugary soda pop and healthier alternatives Over the past 16 years, the amount of sugar in American diets has increased by 28 percent, with about a third of it coming from soft drinks.
Country Diary: Claxton, Norfolk It was a shaft of light that showed the way. A pinhole in the cloud let through one intense beam that fired down across the fields and into the ragged canopy. By Mark Cocker	Country Diary: Northumberland Both my grandparents died of flu in the 1920s within months of one another, and I have always been aware of the seriousness of this virus. By Veronica Heath
Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Au revoir the Burren. Such variety of landscape in a drive of less than two hours! We went from our limestone, karst Burren to the richer farmlands of south Galway, past the great Lough Corrib ...By...	Defining "Not tested on animals" Testing of chemicals and consumer products accounts for roughly 10 to 20 percent of the use of animals in laboratories (or approximately two to four million animals yearly) in the U.S.
Under-inflated tires add to pollution, waste energy and increase fuel costs Vehicles running on soft tires contribute nearly 3,000 extra pounds of carbon dioxide to the environment annually.	Country Diary: Langsett "By gum, water's low still," observed the elderly walker as we passed on the impounding wall of Langsett reservoir, largest of the dams formerly owned by the Sheffield Development...
Country Diary: The Tetbury Owl Here's a one-off natural history event, unlikely to be repeated, but memorable. By Colin Luckhurst	Country Diary: Highlands The AGM of the Highland branch of Butterfly Conservation was recently held in Inverness and featured much unusual, excited small-talk about the summer. For this was the "year of butterflies and...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge Sunny days, clear skies, a full moon, the white breath of frost: this is becoming a classic autumn. By Paul Evans	Country Diary: Somerset We set out to explore nearby remnants of the forest of Selwood, once a great tract of wood and scrub some 50 miles long and 10 miles wide. By John Vallins
Country Diary: Newton Point The gently rolling swell off the Northumberland coast was deceptive - just enough to create a few treacherous, larger-than-usual waves on the incoming tide. By Phil Gates	Waste-to-Energy" plants Waste-to-energy power plants are a mixed blessing. They get rid of our garbage and provide electricity in the process. But they also generate toxic pollution, usually as a result of burning vinyl...
Healthy Home Improvements Hundreds of websites offer tips on environmentally friendly building and repair. For less handy homeowners, a referral from the Natural Handyman Network can set you on your way to a healthier and...	Country Diary: Cornwall Traditional dances, of the furry, or serpent's coil or scoot variety, and an early fiddle or "crowd" (its design copied from a carved bench end) are featured at the Gorsedd open day at...
Country Diary: Wortley Sir Roy Strong's recent memory of driving in a Land Rover with the Queen Mother on the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park when everyone else was ...By Roger Redfern	Country Diary: New Forest In autumn the forest can look stunning. After several days of heavy rain it just looks sodden. Roads are crossed with drifts of gravel.
Country Diary: Tetbury Yesterday, I received an extract from the 2005 Proceedings of the Somerset Archaeology and Natural History Society, titled A Late-Medieval Screen Fragment from Glastonbury Abbey, that immediately...	Country Diary: Dalarossie Strathdearn: Tucked away on the banks of a broad bend on the river Findhorn, south of Inverness, is Dalarossie church and churchyard. By Ray Collier
Country Diary: West Penwith We are back from a week in the far west - high above Sennen Cove and a short walk across windswept clifftops from Land's End, with a wide view of Atlantic weather racing in towards the striking...	"Carbon sequestration" and global warming What's better, capturing and "sequestering" carbon emitted by smokestacks like this one, or eliminating the pollution in the first place?
Radio and microwave frequencies from cell phones and other sources The jury is still out as to whether -- or how much -- radio and microwave frequencies from cell phones and other sources may negatively impact human health.	Home canning Home-canned foods like these tomatoes will last for years without refrigeration, while retaining the same taste and vitamin content as the day they were harvested.
Debt for Nature Swaps Debt-for-Nature swaps seek to preserve critical environmental areas around the world, especially forests like this one being cut in the Philippines.	Poetry Contest Modest prizes with free publication to the top 13 authors $250, $125, $75
Country Diary: Northumberland It has been a prolific year for garden vegetables, as well as apples and blackberries, and our church will benefit at harvest festival. By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland I was sitting on a stone in the little deserted village of Formoyle, above the Caher river in Lochrann, known locally as the Khyber Pass. The village was abandoned in 1848 during the great famine.
Country Diary: Upper Dove Valley The season for sheep sales is upon us. At traditional venues throughout sheep country, surplus animals are arriving at what has long been a combination of commercial and social events. By Roger...	Country Diary: Ilminster Barrington Court, a splendid Tudor manor house, is celebrating 100 years as a National Trust property by creating a centenary cider for 2007. By Colin Luckhurst
Country Diary: Highlands There were rumours that the tallest tree in Britain was a Douglas fir, and initially there were two contenders from these non-native trees. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Tamar valley High water floods across Cotehele Quay, enabling a kayaker to float out of the boatyard before paddling up the calm river. By Virginia Spiers
Country Diary: Somerset The two finest houses in our village are the Manor and the Grange. The Grange was built in 1686 as a rectory for Thomas Wickham, the first of a line of Wickham rectors that lasted for 211 years. By...	DDT is back - fighting malaria - but is there a better way? The Bald Eagle was nearly extinct in the lower 48 U.S. states by the middle of the 20th century, pushed to the brink by its sensitivity to DDT.
Nail Polish Dangers Conventional nail polishes contain a veritable witch's brew of chemicals, but safe, non-toxic alternatives are available.	Country Diary: Winterton, Norfolk For most birders a creature like the pallid harrier has it all. It's a medium-sized bird of prey, long and rangy in both wing and tail. By Mark Cocker
Golden Memories of My Grandfather My grandfather was the finest man I knew, and this memory of him shows his character at its best.	Country Diary: Aberystwyth Drifts of dry beech leaves from last autumn still edged the stone steps in the woods above Llangorwen...
Country Diary: Northumberland Craster kippers are the taste of the sea and, for over a hundred years, four generations of the Robson family have been smoking them in the small harbour village of Craster on our north-east coast....	Country Diary: Teesdale We have an optimistic mantra for summoning enthusiasm for a walk on grey days like today, when rivulets of rain snake down the window, that goes "it can't be as bad as it looks out there"...
Country Diary: Wenlock Edge October begins brown, not so much a colour as a mood: something soft and earthy. By Paul Evans	Solar hot water heaters Ahhh...a nice clean shower -- and so much more so with solar-heated hot water.
Autumn leaf burning "Why burn leaves? They're so much fun!"	Country Dairy: Wortley South Yorkshire may be associated with motorways, abandoned collieries and industrial estates but that's only one chapter of the story. By Roger Redfern
Country Diary: New Forest For the poet, autumn and her fruits presage decay and death. Well, maybe, but for the creatures of the forest they are the harbinger of strength for winter's worst.	Country Diary: Gloucestershire Chedworth Roman villa, a Romano-British structure, lies in the Cotswolds north-west of Cirencester. It is the National Trust's oldest stately home, dating from the fourth century. By Colin Luckhurst
Country Diary: Achvaneran It is a strange and moving feeling picking and eating apples off a tree I planted myself in the garden about 18 years ago. By Ray Collier	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge The roads are littered with the carcasses of pheasants, in varying degrees of flatness. In some places there are so many, the roads look like they will soon be paved with dead birds who had yet to...
Country Diary: Dorset On a Monday evening we visited the Gaggle of Geese, a pub tucked away in the Dorset village of Buckland Newton. By John Vallins	Country Diary: Woodwalter Fen The Great Fen project is one of the most important environmental schemes ever launched in the UK. Wildlife Trusts, English Nature, Huntingdon district. By Mark Cocker
Wal-Mart's environmental legacy and commitment Wal-Mart's new green commitment includes powering facilities and fleet with renewable energy, cutting back on waste and selling green products, including organic produce, sustainably harvested fish...	Defining and protecting wetlands The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines wetlands as "lands where saturation with water is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and...
Mad Cow Disease and Alzheimer's -- Is there a connection? Some scientists believe that the infectious ?prion? proteins that cause Mad Cow Disease and its brain-wasting human variant, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), could be a factor in the substantial...	Eliminating kids' school lunch waste A typical American school kid generates 67 pounds of discarded lunch box packaging waste per school year. That?s more than 18,000 pounds yearly for the average sized elementary school.
Country Diary: Northumberland For many countrymen, and a few women, fishing is a relaxing pastime, active and passive at the same time, and there is always the chance of a tug on the line. By Veronica Heath	Country Diary: The Burren, Ireland Visitors often exclaim and indeed tourist brochures confirm their first impression of our Burren: "It is a lunar landscape." Well, I've never been on the moon but, if I remember accurately...
As You Wish Love Lost..I have run out of ways to express the way I feel about you. Even though I know you don't feel the same for me..	Country Diary: Anglesey With the recent death of my friend, Sir Kyffin Williams, Wales has lost probably its greatest artist and eminent ambassador for the mountains and coastlands. By Roger Redfern
Country Diary: Finistere Here's an avian success story to hold up against the more usual accounts of the retreat of the natural world. By Colin Luckhurst	Country Diary: Strathnairn Red deer stags are now preparing for the rut and the ritual of bluff and double bluff will once again take place in the straths, glens and high tops. By Ray Collier
The University of Love An attempt to understand such an illusive concept.	Country Diary: Wenlock Edge On sharp sunny days like this the lure of the sea is irresistible and half of Shropshire and the West Midlands decamps for th