Outdoor Living

NATURE The goldfinch’s striking markings and beautiful song make them a much-loved garden visitor, writes John Shelley

NATURE When you go mushroom foraging, it’s best to know your fields and horses from your yellow stainers

NATURE Two of our most familiar summer visitors, cuckoos and swallows, are taking to the skies

NATURE John Shelley forms a newfound respect for the emotional intelligence of the bumblebee after two encounters

NATURE John Shelley meets a young, crash-landed crow, and has a hard time convincing his friend not to take her life

NATURE There’s nothing like the smell of new mown hay, but saving it – now that’s a whole other story

NATURE Perch are as plentiful as trout once were – but is it pike or water quality that is to blame for the trout decline?

NATURE John Shelley’s adopted fox cub breaks for freedom, prompting a meditation on the natural way of things

OUTDOOR LIVING John Shelley takes in a lost fox cub, and finds his heartstrings pulled every which way

NATURE John Shelley tries a goosegrass and dandelion-leaf sandwich, washing it down with hawthorne-leaf tea