It was Sunday, February 24th when I set out to find a subject for this week’s column.

There was a very thin coating of snow and a mild frost. The last thing I expected to be writing about was flowers, but once again I found that the wonder of nature is that you cannot predict it.

In the hedgerow there were plenty of snowdrops which you expect at this time of the year, but a clump of primroses was a very pleasant surprise. Is the primrose a member of the rose family? No it is not, and it gets its name from the fact that they do have a very similar smell.

Primroses are in bloom long before the rose, and so the plant was called Prima Rosa, which literally means the first rose.

In the old days, primroses were a valuable herb. The flowers were boiled in water and crushed. The mush was then mixed with goose fat to produce an ointment. This was used on cuts, bruises and burns.

My next sighting was of a stand of teasels. The flower heads were very long dead, but the dry parts stood out against the sky. If you touch these dead flower heads, you can see that they are full of hooks and prickles.

Once again, our not too distant ancestors had a use for teasels.

The flower heads were rubbed against woollen cloths and the hooks raised the nap. Before more modern inventions took over, teasels were used to give the final touches to billiard and snooker tables. This stroll was a very pleasant surprise.

I set off for a winter walk and, thanks to these two plants, came home with a spring in my step – literally!

Mother nature's own beetle drive

Those who think that birdwatching is difficult should try beetle watching.

Those of us who like identifying birds have plenty of books to help us, and only about 300 species which are found in Britain.

They fly about and are easy to see, and they also have English names.

Those who study beetles have hundreds to identify, few books to help, and most of the species hide away in dark corners and have no English names.

Most folk prefer to listen to the records of the Fab Four Beatles and ignore the Fab hundreds of real beetles.

A few insects which we call beetles are big enough to see and among the biggest are the longhorn beetles, which are found among the leaf litter in woodland, or hedgrows floor, or on the bark of trees. One of the best known is called Clytus Arietis, and it is a beautiful creature, mainly black with prominent yellow bands.

Beetles belong to the insect tribe. It is thought there are about 350,000 insect species in the world, all typified by having three pairs of five jointed legs.

About one third of insects are beetles which are placed in a class called Coleoptera. They have only one pair of wings.

Species such as the longhorn beetles do not fly much, except in the breeding season.

Don’t worry about learning the names.

Bug hunting is great fun and, some of the species are very colourful.

Vicar and wife share hobby

A FRIEND of mine has been a vicar for more than 40 years and he is one of the best naturalists that I know.

His wife spins and fashions a lot of the woollen clothes they wear, and she even dyes them.

This has provided them with a joint hobby.

They both study a fascinating group of plants which are called lichens.

These are not only worth studying in their own right, but they also contain chemicals which contain natural dyes.

Lichens are not simple organisms because they are actually two for the price of one. The main body of the combination consists of a fungus which sticks to the surface of tree trunks, walls, and especially gravestones.

Inside this fungus are hundreds of small green algae. The fungus provides the home for the lichen and the green algae produces the food.

This is a combination which has long been studied in school text books and is called symbiosis.

The last word should come from my vicar, who told me: “When I look around my graveyard I am at work – twice. I keep the place neat and tidy and I can study lichens at the same time.”