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The best sounds of the countryside, from the baa-ing and burbling to cuckoos and clip-clops
Be it bees buzzing around pollen, a breeze through a field of wheat or the barking of deer, there are certain sounds that will forever evoke our British countryside, wherever you might find yourself, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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John Lewis-Stempel: 'I will burn the ragwort tonight, so in its death it glows as brightly as in its life'
On a breathlessly hot day in July, John Lewis-Stempel mounts an attack on ‘injurious and noxious’ weeds with the help of his trusty little grey Fergie tractor.
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Badgers, weasels, otters, stoats and more: A guide to Britain's mustelids
Lithe, opportunistic and with a predilection for poultry, these elusive, often pocket-sized predators have long raised a stink for farmers and gamekeepers, but not all of them deserve such an otterly bad rap, believes John Lewis-Stempel.
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John Lewis-Stempel: Here’s looking at ewe, kid
Tasked with shearing his neighbour’s sheep late on a warm June night, the clickety-click of John Lewis-Stempel’s metal hand-shears is accompanied by a vociferous twilight chorus of crickets, birds and bats.
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John Lewis-Stempel: Birds' nests, wool, and how the dung of a single outdoor cow feeds 2.2 million insects per year
As he repairs a fence that’s gone floppy thanks to the cattle rubbing against it, John Lewis-Stempel pauses on a warm Spring morning to admire all the birds busily building and lining their nests with cow hair.
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Rabbits: Our most underrated creature? The underground engineering and clever tricks of Britain's third-favourite pet
Pie filling, pest or pet of underrated beauty, the rabbit is a mute and gregarious commoner that will nonetheless scream, fight and kill when warranted, says award-winning nature writer John Lewis-Stempel.
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The secret life of rabbits
Pie filling, pest or pet of underrated beauty, the rabbit is a mute and gregarious commoner that will nonetheless scream, fight and kill when warranted, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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Spring blossom: 'A reminder that we that we have escaped deathly winter and life with all its possibilities is born again'
As attractive to artists as it is to moths and butterflies, the ‘White Period’ of heavenly spring blossom is upon us and John Lewis-Stempel couldn’t be happier.
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Hibernation: How it works, why animals do it, and the creature that can sleep for up to 11 months
Dormice sleep for months, hedgehogs snore in quilts of moss and wood frogs turn to ice — a spellbound John Lewis-Stempel investigates the annual mystery of hibernation.
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Curious Questions: Are snowflakes really all unique?
Award-winning writer John Lewis-Stempel's soul is moved both by the art and the science of the snowflake.
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The tragic story of George Moor, the 18-year-old who won a Victoria Cross at Gallipoli and survived the Somme, only to die days before the end of the First World War
Second Lieutenant George Moor was a teenager who signed up for service at the outbreak of the First World War and battled through unimaginable horrors. John Lewis-Stempel tells his heartbreaking tale, a chilling reminder of what our forefathers had to do to survive.
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Foraging for sloes: 'Are we not actually closest to Nature, valuing it most, when we pick it — when we are inside the food chain ourselves?'
On his annual October sloe-picking harvest, John Lewis-Stempel admires redwings, greenfinches and wood mice gathering their haul of autumn’s bountiful berries.
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Why we love horses: The 40,000 year story of people and their steeds
Equus caballus has served us for millennia on the land, the battlefield and in the sporting arena, so it’s no wonder our passion for our trusty steeds remains unbridled, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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How dogs read our minds, spot when we're lying, and fall in love with their owners
Capable of feeling jealousy and grief, as well as the love and adoration we’ve basked in for centuries, the dog is a creature like no other for John Lewis-Stempel.
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'Trees remind us of our insignificance, our transience, and the necessity of wonder'
As Country Life launches its Trees for Tomorrow campaign, to mark the magazine’s 125th anniversary, John Lewis-Stempel reflects on why these gentle giants are the key to our survival.
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The 10 best trees you'll find in Britain, from Alder to Scots Pine
John Lewis-Stempel picks out his ten favourite British trees.
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The secret life of chickens: It turns out the humble pecker is something of an egghead
Assumed to be the lowest in the avian-intelligence pecking order, chickens are, in fact, more like feathered imitators of Sherlock Holmes, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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Curious Questions: Are cows actually super-intelligent?
Far from being ‘stupid’ or ‘silly cows’, cattle are clever and emotionally intelligent, with bags of personality, too, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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Travelling the Wye Valley: Castles, books and 'a secret place only Herefordians know'
Eulogised by Gilpin, Wordsworth and Coleridge and immortalised on canvas by Turner, the sylvan charm of the River Wye Valley is one of Herefordshire’s best-kept secrets, says John Lewis-Stempel.
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'The Spitfire made everyone who sat in the aircraft’s tiny cockpit feel great, feel godly': A eulogy to the Spitfire, 80 years on from its Finest Hour
Outnumbered yet never outfought, The Few buckled on their Spitfires and rode into the Battle of Britain like knights on their chargers. Eighty years on, their true memorial is the freedom in the air we breathe.
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The secret life of sheep — and how these supposedly dim animals show guile, fear, and an ability to pick Fiona Bruce out of a line-up
Condemned as dimwits, could sheep really be the brainiacs of the barnyard, capable of fear, boredom, happiness and identifying Fiona Bruce? John Lewis-Stempel delves into the secret life of these curious (in all senses) creatures.
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A new ode to Spring, from gambolling lambs to pale wood anemones and the rabbity-nosed velvet of ash buds
Once believed to be summoned from slumber by birdsong, spring is a season of timeless joy for John Lewis-Stempel.
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Snow, rubber gloves, lubricant gel... and moments of wonder and joy: The reality of lambing in winter
John Lewis-Stempel's dispatches from lambing season focus on the early March snows which made a tough job into an battle.
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In praise of nightingales: 'I’ve listened to Gregorian chants in Gothic cathedrals — but the greatest musical performance I ever heard was outside my bedroom one night'
It’s 200 years since Keats penned ‘Ode to a Nightningale’, but this otherwise drab bird’s rich, sorrowful song is worth listening out for says John Lewis-Stempel.
