Wild - and not so - life!

When the dog comes back from your woods with a deer leg in his mouth you have to wonder what killed/ate the rest of it.

Quite often in Britain and the continent you will see road signs advising you to look out for leaping deer. We've never seen one - until this week. Of course, it wasn't leaping but a stag was standing in a field by the roadside with a couple of smaller deer behind him. That was exciting. For me anyway.

Much like the lizards that were everywhere - which had me exclaiming each time I saw one to the complete indifference of everyone else who was used to them.

Snakes under the drain cover. Only little ones and of non-venomous variety.

Chirols, otherwise known as edible dormice. Younger Son had found out that at least two were living in the house and especially the kitchen so he put down a humane trap. It was very successful in that it caught a two-legged chirol, which Younger Son then ended up feeding because he thought the poor little handicapped thing would have no chance of surviving the winter out in the wild.

And the kittens.

The day before we arrived Nuora acquired two kittens from the chef in the the restaurant in which she works. They seem to have settled in very quickly and already have the measure of Lobo, the dog, sleeping in his bed and whacking his nose.

They're currently known as Dipstick and Doofus, but that is likely to change. Maybe.