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.

The Battle of the Branches

by admin - 22:48 on 22 May 2012

Matchgirl has always feared what would happen if cat and marten came nose to nose. Tonight we found out.

I'd ignored the twittering because from the sofa I could see the gate through the window and The Nutella Trunk past the open door; neither were occupied. But the twittering continued.

I stepped outside to find Bess in the lower branches of the willow tree and Young Marten (I think) in the higher branches, doing her best to avoid being savaged by our toothless moggy. While I watched, Bess edged closer and the marten moved higher.

By now, Matchgirl had arrived on the scene so I nipped back inside for the Pentax and missed a death-defying marten leap. Bess, smug in victory, declined the chase. The leap, Matchgirl reported, followed a failed attempt by Young Marten to pass The Guardian of the Branch which brought them within touching distance. The visitor then ran back up the tree and leapt to freedom.

Bess had spent all day outdoors, snoozing in the undergrowth with the occasional break to shout at the door until food was brought to her. The sun is probably the reason, although an unexpected marten visit just before nine this morning might also be a factor. I saw only a glimpse, so there was no chance of snappery, but Bess might have seen more.

No martens were seen on the gate yesterday evening but one was certainly in the vicinity just after nine in the evening, as the Bushnell proved, also the time of tonight's marten-moggy match. At the time of writing, no martens have returned – perhaps not surprising as the moggy remains on guard outside The Rural Retreat.

Band Update: Strawdogs have almost secured a slot on the bill at Thunder in the Glens, the annual Aviemore rally organised by Edinburgh Harley Davidson enthusiasts. The deal is still to be finalised, but it looks like we'll play one set in the afternoon on the open-air stage and a second in the evening at the rally club, held at The Winking Owl. Whether Kawasaki San will get to take part is unknown

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