Stopping By Hedgerows

A walk of a thousand paces, part nature observation, part a mythology of my own creation. Looking at the landscape through a different lens. Acknowledgements My thanks to Phil Barnett, Louise Mee and Micki Colbeck, whose generous reading improved this piece. This piece was deeply inspired by the Metrical Dindshenchas, a text compiled between the 11th and 14th centuries that records Ireland’s much...

Mostly ignored, but silently growing all the time. The grass under our feet can be an unexpected source of much interest. Acknowledgements Identification guide to Ireland’s Grasses, National Biodiversity Data Centre. Grass by Carl Sandburg first appeared in ‘Cornhuskers’ in 1918.

It is always special to welcome the swallows back after their long journey from the south. They have cpatured our imaginations for millennia, and there is much to learn about these fork-tailed beauties. Acknowledgments The relationship between nest location selection of Barn swallows ( Hirundo rustica ) and human activity and residence - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-50149-6 The Barn...

Some birds have a simple calls but these often hold an iconic position in our collective memory. Let's listen to these two-note troubadours.  Acknoweldgements Great Tit https://xeno-canto.org/788731   Coal Tit https://xeno-canto.org/717705   Blue Tit https://xeno-canto.org/1070960   Common chiffchaff https://xeno-canto.org/637792   Willow warbler https://xeno-canto.org/915783 Cuckoo https://xe...

I explore how Ireland’s historical maps serve as more than just navigational tools, revealing the deep, often complex stories etched into our landscape. By retracing the steps of 19th-century surveyors, I examine the intersection of culture, colonial history, and personal memory. Acknowledgements Jim O’Connor for his local knowledge. https://www.facebook.com/jim.oconnor.33633344/posts/pfbid02mCyZZ...

Spring a time of birth and life, but also of death. Seeing the signals, listening to the sounds. Acknowledgements BirdWatch Ireland, Buzzard Species Focus (2011) https://birdfact.com/articles/buzzard-nesting https://historycooperative.org/cailleach/ https://simonbarnesauthor.co.uk/books/birdwatching-with-your-eyes-closed/ Collared Dove https://xeno-canto.org/621403   Great Tit https://xeno-canto.o...

We depend on the ground beneath our feet more than we realise, and it has moved more than we can imagine. Acknowledgments Music by Camron Roo Livingstone, S.J., Cofaigh, C.O. and Evans, D.J.A. (2008) Glacial geomorphology of the central sector of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet. Journal of Maps, 4 (1). 358 - 377. ISSN: 1744-5647 Geology of South Mayo Bedrock Map Series Sheet 11

As the wheel turns toward St. Brigid’s Day and the ancient festival of Imbolc, I mark the traditional arrival of spring with a visit to a local holy well. Join me as we explore the intersection of landscape, ritual, and history. A special note of thanks to Jim O'Connor for his knowledge and poetry reading. Acknowledgements Poetry remains the copyright of Jim O’Connor  Cameron Roo - music John...

During a trip to the hazel forest I got lost, little did I know I was not the first. No affiliation with Netflix or the show! Acknowledgments Cameron Roo - Music Sean Lysaght Phil Barnett https://www.logainm.ie/en/ https://irishpagan.school/irish-for-fairy/ https://www.irishagroforestry.ie/silvopasture-cattle

As the year turns, let's turn our ears beyond the patch to listen to something different. A special episode to explore a year in Vermont with Micki Colbeck.

In the summer, I walked down to my favourite place in the world to listen and to observe. Being not doing.

Exploring the history of our hedgerows and what they say to us. Acknowledgements https://www.mayo.ie/heritage/mayo-hedgerow / https://www.mayo.ie/getmedia/3c367b71-7008-46d9-a62a-c055fd2beb68/County-Mayo-Hedgerow-Survey-Report_Final.pdf

In 2018, the buzzard's shadow once again fell upon our corner of the west of Ireland. These are my reflections on their homecoming. Acknowledgements BirdWatch Ireland, Buzzard Species Focus (2011) https://birdfact.com/articles/buzzard-nesting Colm Philpott https://xeno-canto.org/979487   Oscar Campbell https://xeno-canto.org/582314   Harry Hussey https://xeno-canto.org/578537  

Abandoned cottages speckle the Mayo countryside. Combining the hard evidence of census records, maps and onsite investigations with imagined, fact-based dialogue, I attempt to bring one home, and the people who lived there, back to life, if only for a few moments. Acknowledgements https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/view Patrick Kavanagh’s wonderful poem, If ever...

In search of the well of the eels that gives Pollanaskan townland its name. Acknowledgements The GeoHive map view is a great resource from the government agency, Tailte Eireann and can be accessed at geohive.ie Maps of drainage systems, such as the Moy, can be found on the Environmental Protection Agency's Geoportal at gis.epa.ie For exploration of place names, begin at loganim.ie

A walk in the rain to date a local hedgerow using Hooper's Law. Acknowledgments Hooper's hedgerow history hypothesis - UK NAEE https://share.google/ni1jkJMDkiSCZl4uK Max Hooper Obituary- https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/09/max-hooper-obituary Hedgerow surveying handbook - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6863a03d08bf2f5376121a64/hedgerow-survey-handbook__corrected...

It is September and the swallows have begun to leave, we are an island of comings and goings. Acknowledgements: Thanks to Sean Lysaght and Phil Barnett. Kate St. John: https://www.birdsoutsidemywindow.org/2014/06/16/the-importance-of-tail-streamers/ Ornithology, Third Edition, Frank B. Gill Czech Academy of Sciences, The extraordinary life of swallows: https://www.avcr.cz/en/news-archive/The-extra...

As the seasons change, a special episode with Phil Barnett to explore the inkling days.

This week, I delve into the changes that have occurred in a single field over the last 200 years in the west of Ireland. Acknowledgements: Thanks to my neighbour Pat for the invaluable chats. Thanks to GeoHive managed by Tailte Éireann for the map data. https://www.geohive.ie/ Cameron Roo, for the music, https://www.youtube.com/@Roocaster All errors are my own, and I remain, as always, open to cor...

Searching for the forgotten wolves in the landscape of the west of Ireland and through time. Acknowledgements: Kieran Hickey, Wolves in Ireland Yellowstone Forever (for their blog on wolves and ravens) The Proceedings of the Royal Society, for the paper "Social learning spreads knowledge about dangerous humans among American crows") Sean Lysaght, for confirming the etymology of drumlin C...