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.

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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.

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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.

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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:

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.

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.

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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