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.

Tough Times For Lizards

by admin - 16:51 on 15 March 2015

Spring has sprung, if the last two days are to be believed: cloudless skies, no wind, and forecast to remain so for another day or two. Snowdrops are fading, daffodils are almost ready to bloom, the grass is beginning to grow. The only down side is a severe frost the last two mornings.

Another harbinger of spring is the reappearance of lizards in The Rural Retreat, the first of them carried inside yesterday by The Grey Streak, aka Willow. Maia, not our most notable hunter, outdid her today with two successful forays into the wilder edges of the garden. All three reptiles survived (although their tails didn't) and were returned to The Great Outdoors.

The good weather has left The Pride so frisky that today it joined me for a wander up the lane beside the Retreat for the first time since winter began. (Matchgirl, who'd run to Cromarty and back for fun this morning, stayed home.) The walk ended with a glimpse of roe deer in the woodland close to our drive, so lengthening days are stirring bigger mammals too.

Clement conditions mean I no longer have an excuse for ignoring the storm-thrown debris on the lawn. Tidying up and a bonfire will begin tomorrow, unless the weather's mild enough to bring Kawasaki San out of the garage where he's spent the winter connected to an Optimate trickle charger, which means he should start first time. We'll see.

Magazine Update: Several outlets have pleaded for more copies a mere two weeks after the latest Chatterbox went on sale. Some redistribution took place but we may have to print more if demand continues – a thousand sales of an edition, for the first time, is a distinct possibility. The North Star followed-up one of our stories (on its front page) and there's a rumour that a second will appear next week. Chatterbox – first with the news. Buy your copy while you still can.

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