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.

Pesky Pine Martens And Perky Pusses

by admin - 22:03 on 30 April 2013

Being a considerate husband, I left the marital bed and went downstairs at two-thirty this morning so the coughing and wheezing brought on by a cold (I blame London) wouldn't disturb Matchgirl. The only silver lining in this arrangement was that I could keep an eye open for pine martens around six, when one had been captured by Bushnell for the last two mornings.

But martens know. The visit took place at quarter to five (the Bushnell later confirmed) while I dozed in my chair. That would have been too early for decent snappery but long enough after dawn for a good sighting. Such is life.

By seven, I'd been pestered long enough by confused cats to give in and serve an early breakfast, then settled down to catch up on an episode of I, Claudius saved on the TV recorder. Being an inconsiderate husband, I failed to keep the volume low enough to not bother Matchgirl, who was roused by friends, Romans and countrymen hailing Caesar. The silver lining for her was that she was able to see Jean Luc Picard when he had hair.

Their early start left The Fearless Ones full of beans, which was bad news for wildlife. Willow was the one snapped with the trophy but I suspect that Pandora had earlier done the hard work then lost interest. However, Willow was definitely to blame for the common lizard carried inside The Rural Retreat.

I retrieved the corpse – working on the principle that if I confiscate their victims, dead or alive, the hunters will stop bringing them home – and after a moment realised that the chest was still heaving. The lizard was left in a safe place outside, from where it later disappeared; either it made a full recovery or was seized by a winged predator.

Our blackcap continues to visit, and I had a glimpse of a russet-capped mate so there's a chance of baby blackcaps to come, as long as their nest is beyond the reach of kittens. I fear that fledging time in the garden could be carnage.

Add your comment

Your Name


Your Email (only if you are happy to have it on the site)


Your Comment - no HTML or weblinks


Enter this number in the box below and click Send - why?Unfortunately we have to do this to prevent the system being swamped by automated spam