Invasion of the swingers
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The Ranger is fond of internet tittle-tattle, and occasionally enjoys the salacious titbits found on the Holy Moly gossip website. There's something curiously compelling in scurrilous untruths about people you've either never heard of, or wish you'd never heard of. This week amongst tales of huge stars like Jodie Marsh's ex-husband and that disaster area pop star Pete Doherty, it asked, in all innocence:

QUESTION! Which TV couple were mightily pleased to plant the old 'pampas grass' in their front garden as a marriage saver?

Goodness knows what the answer is - and indeed it's pretty irrelevant. But what's this about pampas grass? Some euphemism obviously... but for what? The Ranger's interest was piqued.

Pampas grass, Berkshire © Fabricator of useless articles

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Posted on 21st June 2008 at 4 34 pm
by The Virtual Ranger
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Categories: Isle of Wight, Invasive species, Naughty vegetables
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The Hornet Whisperer
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By Ruth D'Alessandro, The Wildlife Gardener

The Wildlife Gardener has special powers. She can talk to hornets. Just recently she has had a couple of 'up close and personal' encounters with hornets that could have been quite nasty had she not talked her way out of them.

Hornet © Dalantech

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Posted on 20th June 2008 at 10 39 pm
by The Virtual Ranger
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Categories: Notes from a Wildlife Garden
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Isle of Wight Festival 2008: it worked
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The earlier post in advance of the Isle of Wight Festival described - with a little apprehension - the preparations for hoards of people to descend on one of The Ranger's nature reserves. The clean-up now being well under way, it's pleasing to report a success.

Isle of Wight Festival, Friday 13 June 2008

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Posted on 19th June 2008 at 11 36 am
by The Virtual Ranger
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Categories: Isle of Wight, Health and Safety
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Noodle Out Campaign
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By Ruth D'Alessandro, The Wildlife Gardener

The Wildlife Gardener tries to shop ethically: free range chicken and pork, organic eggs, milk from the local milkman, Fairtrade sugar and tea, no airfreighted vegetables. So she was particularly delighted when shopping (uncharacteristically) in her local supermarket to find that the plight of the battery noodle has finally improved:

Noodles!

At last, noodles can enjoy the freedom to roam, forage and express natural behaviour in the open air. Their lives, although short, are happy. And my, do they taste all the better for it.

2 comments so far, see them and add yours here!

Posted on 16th June 2008 at 11 01 pm
by The Wildlife Gardener
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Categories: Notes from a Wildlife Garden
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The Isle of Wight Festival: what if we just let people get on with it?
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Once more The Ranger is caught up in Festival Fever. 55,000 revellers have descended upon the Island today - adding nearly half the normal population of the Island - and they're mostly wigging out over on the main festival site.

Isle of Wight Festival, Friday 13 June 2008

You can just see the festival stage on the right of this image.

But taxing The Ranger mightily over the last few weeks has been how to sort out the other 'unofficial' visitors over the river from the main festival site. Last year there were some problems with the large numbers of visitors, and although most people behaved impeccably some didn't: some of the damaged trees and firesites have still not recovered. So what to do this year? Should the site be closed off, keeping people out and stopping them watching the festival for free? Or should the Council open the site up and let them all on - accepting the damage and risk of someone hurting themselves?

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Posted on 13th June 2008 at 11 36 pm
by The Virtual Ranger
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Categories: Isle of Wight, Health and Safety, Signs, Rubbish, litter and waste
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The Ranger's Blog

The thoughts and writings of The Virtual Ranger, since 1995 the host and mascot of Naturenet, the UK's most popular independent environmental website; along with interjections from his real-life alter ego, Matthew Chatfield, and others. Featuring not only Naturenet and countryside related stuff, but, as on Naturenet, plenty of other material - more or less at random - that takes The Ranger's fancy. But you can be confident that soon enough he'll be rather sarcastic.

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