Saturday, December 16, 2006

The invasive Wiggly Wigglers

Not of Irish stock but deserving of mention is the invasive Heather of the family Wiggly wiggler. The Wiggly wigglers have invaded my commutes, driven out my agrestic ignorance, preyed on my interest in hedgerows and made extinct Ireland's once prevalent species Boredom commuting. An intriguing species, the Wiggly Wigglers display a weekly ritual of bonding by infighting and feasting on honey and they insist on equal rights to rant for each member of the family group.

This reluctant urbanite now knows more than she ever thought she could.... about ploughing. And hedgerows. And honey. And pondlife. And, crucially, about how falling off ladders can be very, very funny. Ok, so I concede to breaking Only One Ireland's Irish-posts-only bloglaw by doing this but, since the Wiggly wigglers podcast arrived here on the great ship iPod, Only One Ireland's environment has been enriched. So this is an Irish shout-out to Heather, Farmer Phil, Ricardo and the rest of the Heredfordshire Wiggly Wigglers. I hope you can hear me above your current debate (it's about cats...).

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The island of ireland

Once upon a time, and for 15000 years, ice a mile high blanketed Ireland. When the lingering Ice Age finally released and the Irish ice departed it left a landscape scoured. Across land bridges linking Ireland, Britain and mainland Europe plants and animals arrived to colonise the new lowlands, mountains and valleys. The world’s ice continued to melt, the sea levels to rise, and some 8000 years ago Ireland became the island we now know, accounting for just 0.01% of the world's total land area and the most westerly point of Europe.

Though at Alaskan latitudes, the country's climate is tempered, due partly to the neighbouring waters of the Gulf Stream and partly the prevailing southwesterlies that veering and backing make landfall on our sodden coast. These offerings from the Atlantic mean it is never too hot, never too cold. But without doubt it is wet. Rain lingers year round, never far away, though is most frequent in winter, the western counties and, inevitably, on the day of your parade.