Another whodunit in the garden this week with the theft of our perfectly ripe plums. This year our garden has had more mysteries than an Agatha Christie novel, and more murders than a Quentin Tarantino film. This time around the culprits were tree-climbing, dextrous and sneaky – otherwise known as the squirrels.

As much as I dislike squirrels, I have to hand it to them they keep trying. It is just a bit disappointing that they prefer plums to courgettes as we have many of one and very few of the other. Our resident hairy policemen do their best to keep order in the garden, but are no help when it comes to protecting the plums. However, I do think the hairy policemen have found the squirrel factory as the replacement squirrels seem to be slower in turning up and we now only have three in the garden. 

Lots of flying things fill the skies

The weather took a real turn and became incredibly humid. Someone on the radio said that this week London was actually hotter and more humid than Bangladesh in the monsoon. Well it certainly felt like that in the garden. I have never seen so many flying things.

This brought out the swallows and house martins in abundance. Hundreds of them filled the skies trying to catch as many insects as possible. This in turn attracted our first peregrine falcon. It whizzed over the garden scattering the birds as it flew past. Peregrines can fly at speeds up to 180kph so they really do sneak up on things very quickly.

This has had the effect of frightening away the buzzards that had taken residence as they don’t like lots of birds and they don’t feed on flying things. The endless cycle of change in the garden is amazing as one seemingly permanent visitor is quickly moved on and forgotten to be replaced by another.

The humidity has also triggered the fungi to appear. We always have many types in the garden, but the picture above is of one of the nicest looking ones. 

Guinness world record holder

Last week I referred to our Olympic standard cats’ abilities in various animal Olympic events. They have continued to practise for events such as the vole eating event (with the record of three in one day), and the bird catching event (also with three in one day). Similar to London buses, nothing caught for a reasonable amount of time and then they all come together.

Thankfully, they were more of the expendable variety of birds (if there is such a thing), where there are many of that type here and one or two are just plain stupid and were always likely to succumb.

But despite all the cats’ best efforts this week, they were overshadowed by the new Guinness World Record holder for high-jumping Llamas. Apparently a Llama from North Wales can jump 1.13m which for an animal of that size is quite a height.

The longest cat still living, Ludo the Maine Coon, was also entered into the records at 118.33cm which is nearly 4ft. As much as I like cats I am really pleased that we don’t have two Ludo’s as they would probably eat the sheep next door and the chickens down the road. They also spend each evening asleep on my chest in front of the telly (I’m always hot and they like the warmth), and I can’t imagine trying to breath with two 4ft cats on my chest. 

Early mid-life crisis

There must be something wrong with our cats. I am sure they are really teenagers, but if you look at the accepted theory they actually are 37, (15 years for year 1, 10 years for year 2, and then 4 years for every year thereafter). Therefore, they must be having an early mid-life crisis and acting like teenagers. This week on Tuesday they woke me up at 4am making lots of noise and then slept in until 1.30pm. Today one of them repeated the pattern but finally climbed out of bed at 2pm only to eat his breakfast and then go back to sleep on the door mat. This, on a day when the weather was hot and beautiful.

I expect the next thing will be that they come asking for money, smoking dope and borrowing my car. 

What is a group of

dragonflies called?

 This week we have seen more dragonflies than ever in the garden. I said earlier that many flying things have taken to the skies, well dragonflies have certainly been part of that number. We have a large number of different species but by far the most impressive is the blue / green variety known as the Emperor Dragonfly. This species is like a small bird that can fly forwards and backwards and stop dead in mid-air.

These dragonflies have been particularly busy this week, continually flying over the house from front to back and vice versa. They are so beautiful and I tried to get a picture but I am not going to embarrass myself with the output as it didn’t work. You need a decent camera and an iPad is not that, whatever Apple say.

Apparently a group of dragonflies is known as a cluster or flight. One to remember for a future quiz.

This weekend is supposed to be mixed so I hope the weather is kind to you. Have a good one!

Late Season Crocosmia

Another relatively slow week in the garden, as August slips into September and autumn is upon us. It doesn’t really feel like autumn yet in the day, but the nights are drawing in quicker and the morning mists have started to linger longer. As I watered the garden on Tuesday the drive was shrouded in enough mist that I couldn’t see the gate, which is only about 50 yards away.

The flowers have kept going though, and we still have a fairly good show in the borders. Our early roses that got eaten by mysterious creatures have recovered and are still blooming, and the late season crocosmia have just kicked off, (shown on the right). 

We have lived in this house for 5 years and this is the first time that our white hibiscus has flowered. We have two large bushes and each year they carefully grow, produce flower buds and then die off before they flower.  This year they were on death row after several unsuccessful attempts to flower. My wife had sworn to rip them out if they failed again, quite a brutal approach to a poor unsuspecting plant. Luckily my failures down the years have not been approached with quite such efficiency and I have lived to tell another story, just as these bushes will now that they have produced a show for her.

The cats extend their patch

As the year progresses, our two cats change their daily routine from Winter slumber to Spring excitement to Summer laziness to Autumn chubbiness. As the young birds appear the cats stay closer to home, hoping to pick off the unsuspecting babies, but once they have fledged and left the nest the cats extend their range and look further afield. Initially as it gets hot in July/August, the cats don’t feel like chasing too much, so they limit themselves to waiting by vole holes in the sun. But as it cools down they become more active again, relatively speaking. Sadly, this is not good news for the local rabbit population.

I learned a new word this week – crepuscular. For those that don’t know (like me), it means something that is most active at dawn and dusk, and this certainly applies to rabbits.  Our cats suddenly have an interest in becoming crepuscular too. They have also become brave and crossed the fearsome road at the end of our drive to explore the open fields and look for crepuscular wildlife.

Whilst entertaining some friends the other night one of our cats appeared in the garden with a young rabbit in its mouth. The poor thing was very scared but travelling without making a sound, as if the cat would at some stage forget it and let it go. As my friends spotted the rabbit, I dashed out to see if I could save it from the impending doom.

I am actually not that good with small hairy creatures, (although my wife and I get along fairly well most of the time). They move too quickly and I have big hands that taste good and move slowly. In a moment of madness, I grabbed the rabbit by the neck and held it in such a way that it couldn’t bite me but I wasn’t hurting it, quite a feat for something with gnashing teeth and a small head. It was however scared and it wriggled terribly while I held it in one hand and my cat in the other. Having locked the cat in the house I took the rabbit up to the top of the garden and let it go. It ran like the clappers, off into the bushes and freedom.

We then locked the cats in for the evening to stop them immediately going out and finding it, to let it get away. They climbed the walls of all the rooms in the house and tested every door handle but couldn’t find their way out.

The next morning, they had not forgotten about the night before. They rushed out to the spot where they had last seen their prey. Later they brought me a perfectly formed but sadly dead bunny.  As much as I had tried to save it the night before, “they knew where it lived”.  Thankfully, there are so many about that an occasional loss does not have any real impact on the local population.

A new brood of buzzards

There is something very summery about the sound of raptors floating on the hot air current and calling out.

During the year we often see the odd buzzard being mobbed by crows, but in the last week we have seen a family of them flying very low over the garden looking for food. They normally catch rabbits and other small mammals, but I am sure the sight of a cat must look appetising from up there, albeit they probably don’t know quite what it is.

The buzzards have been continuously calling to each other to point out potential prey. This afternoon I swear that one of them was following me all round the garden. I am starting to feel like my days are numbered if I don’t keep a watch out. Maybe they think that one large feed would be better than many small ones. Anyway, having them around does add a certain something to the garden.

Catch me if you can!

Our house has a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. The bathroom has a reasonable floor space just large enough to become a launch pad. This year one of our cats has learned a new trick – jumping on me while I am on the toilet!

If I don’t close the bedroom door properly he is able to open it and let himself in. He then launches himself into the air to land on my shoulder. I am not sure what possessed him to think this is ok, but he now does it a couple of times a week. He just wants a cuddle, but it isn’t the most convenient place to have one.

Earlier this week as I was paying a visit, I heard a calling in the hall from one of the cats. Instinctively, I mimicked his call, (as I always do). The next thing I knew he had opened the door and was presenting me with a newly mangled vole at my feet. Just the thing I needed to start my day. He then proceeded to eat it whole in front of me.

Thankfully, I had yet to eat my breakfast. I hope this hasn’t put you off yours!

Have a good weekend!