Native black poplars are very rare - although recovering in the last couple of decades through conservation projects like this - but there are a lot of non native ones around that look very similar to the untrained eye. Plus any number of Lombardys as you say.

The typical process, as far as I have been involved at least, is for local wildlife volunteers to identify potential native trees, the county ecologist or similar specialist to come and assess, and then a dna sample taken to be analysed to confirm. After that, cuttings are taken and grown on - and black poplars are usually pretty successful as cuttings.

Pretty much the way it has gone with me. I don’t think that I have ever bought a wallet myself, nor requested one as a present, but nonetheless I have never had a shortage of them.

My current one does what I want it to, and has lasted for probably a decade or so so far. Still going strong too.

I really think that a farm animal - regardless of breed - licking it’s arse falls under the same Naturey McNatureface rule, so thanks but no thanks.

I have no great desire to be remembered. It is neither here nor there from my point of view. As to how people are likely to remember me, ‘quiet’ and ‘intelligent’ are two words that crop up a lot from people who I interact with casually or occasionally. Those who know be better would probably focus on my environmental and conservation work etc.

Related to that, due to the role that I played in stopping an area being sold for development and instead becoming designated as a nature reserve on one occasion, there is a meadow that is casually called after me by some people that I worked with. I suppose that I would be happy to be remembered as a meadow.

Beavers were native, but were wiped out around 400 years back in the UK. They have only been brought back at all in the last couple of decades really.

Different numbers of chromosomes, but one of the notable points about both species is that their appearance and behaviour is VERY similar. No matter where they are, they have a niche and they are phenotypically very well fitted to it.

Sadly, translocation has a very low success rate. It lets the developers say that they’ve been good, but if you return to check 5 years down the line chances are the reception site will be in a very poor condition and the tranlocated population much reduced or gone altogether.

If we are on a position where Labour are saying that the tories protected wildlife too much, my hopes for wildlife are not high.

TV - our ‘regulars’ at the moment are: A Man On The Inside, What We Do In The Shadows, Silo, Lower Decks & Shrinking. The highlight of those this week was definitely the scene in Shrinking s02e06 with Alice & Louis. Extremely well done all round.

Otherwise on TV, we’ve just started the original Wolf Hall, which expects you to sit up and take notice, but rewards that no end (as it should with this cast, and the writing). And then there is Dune: Prophesy - which I am still unsure about, but still willing to see how it goes for another episode or two. Also looking forward to starting Black Doves and The Sticky.

Film - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice last weekend, which was a lot more fun than I expected, even if not outstanding, and then the 2015 Krampus on the 5th - Krampusnacht - which has become a bit of a tradition with us now, and remains enjoyable. Ten minutes after that finished, our power went out - no blizzard though.

I assume that the issue is doe to hard water from the borehole - and so limescale buildup, which can quickly kill heating elements.

I look after a few systems with this issue, and have installed water softeners to deal with it. There is some info here.

Their body is very reflective and can often appear silvery when in the water, but, more significantly, the beetles have pockets of air trapped underneath, which you can see here - definitely silver in appearance.

• I finally repaired the (probably 175 yr old) latch on the kitchen door. We can stop the draughts in the living room now. I had been putting it off, but it was easy in the end, and very satisfying.
• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice - not outstanding, but an enjoyable sequel. My wife enjoyed it a lot, so that made me happy.
• Progressively putting up the Brumalia decorations: I’m always happy with sparkly lights.

Neonicotinides have specifically approved for sugarbeet crops. So it is sugarbeet growers who are using them.

Hah - yes, you are absolutely correct. This was not the article that I intended to post. Too early in the morning. I’ll delete it.

Evidently there are something like 300 medieval castles that have substantial stonework remaining in the UK. Don’t know about Ireland though. There are over twice that number if you include earthworks only - plus all the rest that are earlier.

I have been to nine listed on this map, and at least 20 others that aren’t.

It gave me a starting point for a terms of reference document for a Green Champions group that I set up at work. That is the only beneficial thing that I can recall.

I have tried to find other uses, but so far nothing else has actually proven up to scratch. I expect that I could have spent more time composing and tweaking prompts and proofreading the output, but it takes as long as writing the damned documents myself.

There are some details here and here. I’d expect that reaching out the project team themselves would be the next step. I’d expect that they will have a management plan and project summary of some kind that they could share at the very least.

I’m in my 50s. This is not something that I have ever encountered in the street.

Perhaps, when walking through a park or similar, when I was in my teens or twenties, some kids might have kicked a ball in my direction a couple of times, with the hope/expectation that I would return it, but that it about as close as I have experienced.

Philosophy is the disease for which it should be the cure.

― Herbert Feigl, Inquiries and Provocations: Selected Writings 1929–1974