Notesfromtheisland.

Ireland's greenery follows from its climate. Rain falls in every month, the west and the hills take more of it than the east, and mild winters mean grass keeps growing through the year. A piece on why the island is so green sets out the pattern without overstating it. Another explains how to read a bog: the raised and blanket bogs hold layers of plant remains that record centuries of rainfall, and cutting faces show the sequence.

Seabirds follow the coast and its islands. Puffins nest on Atlantic cliffs and islands roughly from late spring to midsummer, and the dates shift with the weather and the colony. A blog entry on where to see puffins keeps to general guidance and points to BirdWatch Ireland in the Republic and the RSPB in Northern Ireland for current advice. Binoculars and a little distance serve both birds and visitors.

Traditional music is played in pubs and at festivals across the island, and a session has its own etiquette. A piece on how a trad session works explains the circle of players, the role of the session leader, how tunes are set and why listeners sit quietly. Instruments vary from fiddles and flutes to accordions and bodhráns, and the mood ranges from relaxed to focused. Visitors are welcome to listen, and joining in is best left to those who know the tunes.

Irish is an official language of the Republic and is spoken daily in the Gaeltacht areas of Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Meath. A blog entry on where Irish is spoken maps those districts and notes that road signs there are in Irish only. Place names across the whole island carry Irish roots, so a little vocabulary helps with signposts and maps.

Georgian Dublin left a grid of terraces, squares and doorways on the north and south sides of the city. A piece on the doors of Georgian Dublin looks at the fanlights, doorcases and painted panels that mark those streets, and at how the buildings have been reused. Walking the terraces costs nothing and gives a sense of the city's eighteenth-century layout. Some houses open to the public, and a charge may apply at those.

A winter weekend in Dublin has its own rhythm. Daylight in late December runs to about seven and a half hours, so indoor stops matter: museums, galleries, churches and covered markets. The city stays busy, and evenings suit music and food. The piece keeps to what is open in the darker months and suggests checking opening hours with the individual sites, since these change through the year.

Daylight shapes any visit. Around the June solstice Dublin has about seventeen hours of light, and the long summer evenings stretch late into the night. A blog entry on those evenings covers what can be done after an evening meal, from coastal walks to music in the city, and notes that the further west you go the later the light lingers. Weather remains changeable, so a layer and a waterproof are sensible at any hour.

The season-by-season guide sits alongside the blog and covers the year in more detail. Spring brings growth and nesting birds, summer brings the longest days and the busiest coasts, autumn brings colour and quieter roads, and winter brings short days and a lower sun. Timetables, ferries and opening hours change with the seasons, so check with the operator or the site before travelling.