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strong background yellow reduced to only the faintest whisper. This species is well known to vary tremendously in size and colour. It's nice to know that I can still be challenged by even the relatively 'easy' hoverflies.There was no mistaking the next

, there is not an instant solution - it's not that easy to replace something that is 7' tall. It is the old Rabbie Burns thing about the best laid plans of mice and men etc.I have been scuppered by fate and the weather but there is always a silver lining somewhere. Other

Living in a city, one of the country things I really miss is the easy search for dung beetles. Growing up at the foot of the South Downs I could quite happily spend an entire day out dunging. Cows, sheep and horses grazed the rolling hills around my

tail chopped off and then grew a new one. It was easy to spot with its delicate pink newly grown tail contrasting with the old dark purple body. We looked at it thoughtfully for a while, and let it go. I decided not to launch into a lecture on worm

- is an apt descriptor here), but I've also seen 'hairy-footed bee' and 'flower bee'.Only the males have the feathery feet - the middle pair - but I've never been able to find out what they use them for. The sexes are easy to tell apart without having

not be easy with all my digits and limbs crossed!

with trepidation as I'd assumed it would be tricky, but it's as easy as can be. The trick is to ensure the garlic is dry, but still has flexible stems - sometimes garlic plants can have very tough, rigid flower stalks that make plaiting them difficult. Start

I'm an animal lover. I love them all - be they wild, domesticated, farm animals, even pests. My vote always seems to go with those naturally decked in fur or feathers, scales or indeed exoskeletons. It's not always easy; I try to eat a fair

the observations I made of the changes in plants' growth the further north we travelled. A classic example was a laburnum we spotted that was only just coming into bloom. It wasn't just laburnums. The hawthorn trees became less easy to recognise; their annual rate

, an easy-to-grow bulb that produces flowers during August, filling that colour gap between summer perennials that have passed their best and autumn ones that are yet to start flowering.My lilies have already been planted, but bulbs may still be available