THIS extremely lucky young wren, pictured, travelled dozens of miles before it could actually fly - astonishingly, in a nest tucked away above a car’s rear wheel.

Roger Nelson, a regular contributor of wonderful wildlife pictures to the paper, tells me he finally discovered why an adult hen in his garden behaved in such an agitated manner every time he arrived back home in Bolton Abbey in his car.

“Incredibly, during the lockdown, it had built a nest in a hollow high up inside the rear wheel-arch, laid eggs in there, and hatched them,” he tells me.

“I go every week to the supermarket for a couple of hours, and recently I have twice been away from home with the car for about four hours. I can only assume that the incubating parent had stayed on the nest throughout these journeys.”

On one occasion, he took his car in for an overdue service at 8.30am, and only returned almost seven hours later, at around 3.15pm .”Within minutes of arriving back, I saw the parent wrens repeatedly carrying food into the nest in the vehicle’s wheel arch,” he says.

Finally, last week, the young wrens fledged. “My wife saw two already out, and a few minutes later I saw another two emerge; when I then checked the nest, it was empty; some may have already gone before my wife saw the first two.”

Given the textbook fledgling time of 16 days, Roger believes the youngsters must have been about three days old when he first discovered the nest in his car, towards the end of May, and that the nest must have been in place since late April. By his picture of one of the young wrens - they came to no harm., but whether the notoriously picky mother wren decides on such a nest again, remains to be seen.

ITS not just people who are going a bit stir crazy during the coronavirus lockdown, it seems plants are too - if this extremely late Easter Cactus (pictured right, below) is anything to go by.

My colleague, whose plant it is, swears it is an Easter cactus, and up until this year, says it has reliably flowered at Easter - if perhaps on occasion a week or two out on either side, after all, the holiday is a movable feast. The actual date of Easter is based on movements of the moon, and unlike Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day which all fall on fixed dates, Easter can be any time between March 22 and April 25.

But, by anyone’s standards, the first week of June, is way out - perhaps, the plant has decided it is in fact a Christmas cactus, and is steadily working its way to December.

SADLY, children will not be able to go in person to Craven libraries to take part in this year’s summer reading challenge; but they will be able to do it online - and this year looks like being a right silly affair.

Libraries remain closed due to the coronavirus crisis, and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, but children are being encouraged to log on, and join the ‘silly squad’ in the fun house.

This year’s summer challenge - which usually coincides with the school holidays, but has started early this year and is already underway, is set in a fun house, with the silly squad, and is all about funny books, happiness and having a laugh.

It features a riotous group of madcap animal characters designed by the award-winning author and illustrator Laura Ellen Anderson, whose books include Amelia Fang and Evil Emperor Penguin.

The challenge is open to all children, from four to 11 years old , who are invited to read anything that makes them happy – whether that be a comic, joke book, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, in digital or print format, an e-book borrowed from the library or what they already have at home.

They can sign up for free at summerreadingchallenge.org.uk, where they will find book suggestions and tips on how to keep reading.

There will also be super silly activities, quizzes, videos, games, a place to keep track of their books and rewards to unlock along the way.

North Yorkshire Libraries has a huge selection of children’s e-books and e-audiobooks that are free to borrow at northyorks.gov.uk/digital-library. Library members just need their library card and PIN to download books. If you are not a member, just call 01609 533878 to join for free.

Keep a look out on your local library Facebook page and the @nycclibraries Facebook page for Silly Squad online activities and reading recommendations.

Last year, almost 10,000 children took part in the challenge, and with so many still at home, this year might see even more taking part.

North Yorkshire County Councillor Greg White, Executive member for libraries, said: “With school life disrupted and many children missing the company of their friends, this year’s Summer reading challenge will be even more useful in helping parents and carers to find fun, family-friendly activities to support children in maintaining their reading levels and create a safe space to connect with other children.”

DOG poo bins are not the most attractive items of street furniture, but it has to be said, this one, pictured, by Robin Moule, does look rather scenic, and as Robin says, it adds a splash of colour to the lovely, if little known, walk along a track between the bottom of Shortbank Road, Skipton, and Wensleydale Avenue.

IT was 50 years ago, in June, 1970 that Skipton MP Bernaby Drayson started his campaign tor the forthcoming general election. Mr Drayson, Conservative MP for Skipton for the previous 25 years, was to remain MP until 1979.

At his adoption meeting, in the ballroom of the Devonshire Hotel, Skipton, he said he was going in at 11st 10Ibs, had seven knockouts to his credit and none of the socialists who had stood against him in the past had come back for a second bout.

Standing against him was Jean Burns, for the Liberals, and Kenneth Targett, for Labour. Mr Targett, a poultry farmer, had an egg thrown at him when speaking to a gathering on Greatwood estate.

The election of 1970 the first time that 18 year olds were able to vote. The Craven Herald said it was the right decision, but not everyone agreed. It said: “Of course, there are the louts and layabouts, the long haired and the unwashed, the shirkers and time wasters, and those whose simple philosophy boils down to the thesis - and by no means original - that ‘society owes us a living - add up all these malcontents and you have only a small minority of the young people of Britain. Instead of everlastingly moaning over - and publicising this minority, let us cheerfully and gratefully acknowledge the good work that is being done by the majority.”

AGAIN , 50 years ago, work on Gargrave Church , which had started the year before when the drainage system was overhauled, was almost complete.

The last phase , the installation of the bells, commenced with the bringing back of the tenor bell after restoration. The reordering of the church saw the installation of the font in the centre of the west end of the church, the bringing forward of the high altar towards the front of the chancel, the bringing out of the chancel and vicar’s stall and the moving of the choir from the west end to the east end of the church.

There was also new lighting, a new boiler, redecorating and cleaning of interior stonework. All cost more than had been expected and a series of events were planned to cover the debt.