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.
An Absence Of Martens
by admin - 22:23 on 11 June 2013
This is the time of year when the blog should be filled with new snaps of hungry pine martens on the gate and in the garden. But life is change.
It can't be coincidence that their daylight non-appearance occurs at the same time that one resident cat and two resident almost-cats have made the garden their own. They do still come in search of food, but last night's Bushnell snaps proved that there's less of that about: Mystery Moggy No1 cleared the gate at 11.53pm, leaving only scraps for the marten who called just after two in the morning.
Then Matchgirl came home today with the news that Mr Dogwalker saw a marten plus three inquisitive and very vocal kits nearby when exercising his Jack Russell. The Rural Retreat used to be The Right Place; now it isn't. Such is life. I'd lie in wait for the kits if Matchgirl had gathered such vital information as where and when they were seen. Some people.
So I've had enough of feeding other people's cats. Tonight, the gate will be bare of food; chocolate spread, peanut butter and nuts and raisins will be found only on the most outflung branches of The Nutella Tree (it's regrowing quite satisfactorily). However, the Bushnell will be focussed elsewhere: on a patch of ground in the far side of the garden where I hope to find hedgehog activity. Unless freeloading felines eat their food first.
Little snappery has taken place in the past couple of weeks because I've been busy in the garden (really – I may take some pictures to prove it) and practising the songs I need to know for my audition on Thursday with the possible new band. I've also tidied up The Mystery Project which was at last sent to Tigger the printer today. I'll reveal its subject when The Mystery Author gives me the go-ahead. This might be the last Bassman Book for a while because the manuscript I was sent by a local hopeful requires some revision. A summit meeting takes place on Monday.
Bird snappery has slowed down too. Very few fledglings have been seen, although we definitely have chicks in a wall space at the back of the cottage. I'll hazard identifying them as house sparrows after listening to audio on the RSPB website.
This has caused great consternation for almost-cats who can hear them clearly (all day, almost non-stop) but not find them. Maia solved the problem by pretending she hears nothing. Age brings wisdom.
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