As I was walking home from school on March 31st, I saw my first swallows. There were two of them. Ken Flynn, Kinnegad, Co Westmeath
Swallows arrive in Ireland in early April and May, but some- times they can arrive even in early March.
On Friday morning (April 10th) I came across a colony of around 30 snails lying dead on the pavement under an overhanging tree. Could it have been the severe icy conditions which had fallen to minus five degrees on the previous night? Phyllis McCarthy, Clondalkin, Dublin, 22
It could have been the freezing conditions, but it may also have been pesticide poisoning or a disease.