Whether winter-faded ferns, the spindly harvestman or the tyrannical stare of an irate chicken, through-lines from the prehistoric to our modern age are all around us in November, says John Lewis-Stempel

the first month of the year is named after the Roman god Janus. He is often depicted with two heads – one for looking ahead, the other behind. He is also the god of doorways, beginnings, and the risin

By january mountain hares have turned almost fully white, apart from their contrasting ear tips, which seem to have been dipped in black paint. Seeing these charismatic cold-adapted mammals is a highl

Plundering a local byway for a spot of festive foraging, John Lewis-Stempel finds all life proliferating in the multitudinous micro-habitat of the winter hedgerow

Keep bird baths and greenhouse trays clean. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the difference between healthy visitors and winter woes. A quick scrub keeps plants and wildlife happy – and disease at bay. ●

Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ Forgive me please because I have, in my youth, been a bit sneery about mahonias. I recognise that this was a mistake as they have an awful lot in their favour: colour at a