I can’t wait to…

…SEE A LIZARD

It loves nothing more than basking in the sun on heath, moor and grasslands, but can also survive in the Arctic Circle – if there were ever a lizard more suited to the British weather I’d like to find it.

The common lizard is the UK’s most widespread. If you spot one now on your walk, it will have given birth to between three to 11 young, so forgive it for having a rest before it has the ultimate nap when it hibernates in mid-October. This is the best bit – if it feels threatened it’ll shed its still-moving tail to distract its attacker and make a quick getaway, then regrow a shorter version. Nifty!

Marie Marsh, Production Editor

…EAT BEECH NUTS

One of the best ways to permanently score a memory on the whiteboard of my brain is to get other senses in on the act – so I’m determinedly smelling, listening, rubbing and eating my way through the year. Next up, I hope, beech nuts. Once pulled from their little velcro husks

(Stranger Things fans will note a Demogorgon similarity), these small, three-sided nuts can be roasted in three minutes then shelled by rubbing them together in a towel. Rich and fatty, they’re best enjoyed while still warm, tossed in a little butter and salt. Some years they’ll grow big enough to make it worthwhile, others not. So fingers crossed. Guy Procter, Editor

…STARE AT DEWPONDS

My dad developed the bizarre ritual of Running Round the Dewpond (they’re artificial ponds for cattle, common across the South Downs) and I’ve been fond of them ever since.

This month, they’re likely to be nourishing vast numbers of migrating birds. Richard Williamson’s lovely book The Birdwatcher’s Year, says September counts on one small Sussex dewpond include 800 housemartins, ten redstarts, five nightingales, two whinchats and ten blackcap warblers, as well as 30 resident species popping in for a sip. So if the pond is empty, it’s fair game for RRTD. If it’s occupied, it’s nice just to sit at a distance and watch the party. Nick Hallissey, Deputy Editor