Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
Carnage In The Countryside
by admin - 15:35 on 03 June 2014
Summer could be long and bloody if today's anything to go by. The chief culprit is Willow, who continues to be indiscriminate in her pursuit of small game. Pandora may be just as bad as her sister but more sneaky by not bringing home so many trophies. Both spend long hours outdoors so anything could be happening.
What's for sure is that Willow started the day by bringing home a dead blue tit, followed a couple of hours later by a live pheasant chick which was rescued and left to recover in shrubbery close to where Hopalong and his wife have been seen to emerge.
Not long after I'd wrestled a dead vole from The Grey Streak I made a vain attempt to distract The Fearless Ones by taking them for a walk. No chance. Pandora became so engrossed in the long grass at the side of the drive that Willow pounced on her twice in an effort to discover what she'd caught. Nothing, as it turned out.
I left them too it and returned to the garden where I found a great tit expired on the lawn. There was no clue as to its assassin, although I have my suspicions.
Pandora came home after a while but (presumably) a squeaking too high for human ears drew her to the cat-flap where she stared outside with interest. When I opened the door, Willow trotted in with an empty mouth and such an innocent expression that I almost missed the creature wriggling on the doormat - a pygmy shrew no bigger than a 1p coin. Another rescue and relocation was carried out.
Since then The Grey Streak has explored the back of the cooker and freezer (which takes a lot more effort to access than when she was a kitten) and gone back outside. With, at the time of writing, at least six more hours of daylight left, today's carnage may not yet be over.
"But what of Maia?" I hear you ask. Our lethargic black cat spent the day snoozing on the couch. Just as well, really.
Sooner or later I'll resume some proper bird snappery. In the meantime, here's a great spotted woodpecker from a couple of days ago. I've seen no youngsters yet but it can't be long until they're around too.
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