It has been very strange this week. It has felt like the day after a grand event all week, it has been so quiet.

The excitement of the American election and the Remembrance Day events have come and gone. Halloween night is a distant memory and the long winter nights have arrived to end the day prematurely while we are still working.

The rains have started again.

During one very hard downpour on Thursday, I was passed in the street by an old fellow with wizened features and a strong west country accent. "Summer's back", he said sarcastically as the rain poured off his tattered hat and into his carrier bags. Normally I would have agreed with his cynicism but somehow this year I think we have had a fantastic summer. Old habits die hard I suppose, but maybe warm and dry is the new vogue for summer and rain will fall when it is supposed to In the winter. Who said global warming was bad!

There was also the promise on Monday of a super moon that I hope you saw, but sadly we didn’t as the cloud came in and we couldn’t see the sky, let alone the moon. There were some fantastic pictures the next day but not one from me. My picture opposite is of a not so super moon earlier in the year, but a good moon none the less 🙂

I need warmth from wherever I can get it

The heavy air, thick with drizzle and overflowing with winter chill has had its toll on the cats. Sleep has never felt so good and the percentage of time in, versus time out, has risen hugely.

It isn’t really even that cold but they have taken to sitting on the hot radiators. As well as being able to walk with bare feet on gravel, their feet are also super insulated as they can sit on radiators that are too hot to touch, for ages. Every now and then they move off as if their feet are on fire, but the need to be warm seems to override the effort not to burn their feet.

The fighting over their new beds has stopped and they have now chosen to share one bed, sleeping together, rather than having one each. At first this was quite amusing as the bed was not big enough for both and therefore they both sprawled out onto the surrounding floor.

But with a bit of shuffling they are now both happily able to squeeze into one bed and slumber, dreaming of summer days and chasing squirrels. I assume it is squirrels as they keep chattering their teeth and twitching wildly as if fighting with something. The two terrors of the household suddenly becoming incapacitated and docile, or are they?

Don’t get complacent I have left you a winter surprise

As we arrived home from a day out last weekend our cats came out to greet us, looking particularly pleased with themselves. This is not particularly unusual except they normally look half-asleep and dozy.

As I traversed our hallway I saw a dead looking mouse strewn across the path. It was their stuffed toy, and I jokingly said “oh no, they have had something”.

Racing up to find out what they had brought in, my wife was relieved to see it was just the toy looking its usual sorry self. One of our cats will actually carry the stuffed toy around the house and into the garden, delivering it as a present to us wherever we are. This is quite sweet and harmless.

However, as I ventured further into the house it became apparent that Hannibal Lector had been to dinner, and my jest was too hasty. There were feathers everywhere.

Expecting to find a golden eagle sized bird laying in one of the rooms, I found nothing except the piles of feathers in every room. It is amazing how many feathers a small bird has. When they are attached to the bird it seems like a small amount, but when they are detached they somehow manage to multiply and get everywhere. Having just cleaned the house from top to bottom we were now going to have to hoover it all again.

Last time such an episode had happened, my wife sat down to watch the television having cleared up the mess, only to find a fairly bald blackbird sitting atop the television looking at her.

Sadly, this time the cats had been more efficient and we found the deconstructed carcass in our bedroom. A vivid reminder that they may become docile but their instinct can kick in at any time. We wanted the cats to keep the mice out the house, but as usual they try to add as much value as they can.

Changing of the guard

The summer birds have now mostly moved on and they have been replaced by some winter visitors, a flock of field fares. We love field fares and thrushes and once the blackbirds move on they take on the mantle of the house resident.

Similarly, as you travel in our locality the sight of starlings has become much more frequent, including the daily murmurations.

For anyone who has never seen a murmuration, you have never lived!

The nightly display of thousands of starlings all coming together and then flying as a cloud, rolling like fog and changing direction like a shoal of fish is quite incredible. Even if you have seen it before, the sight takes your breath away each time.

The Ham Wall wetlands in Somerset is one of the best places in the UK to see this spectacle. I can’t recommend enough going to the site as the light draws in one evening. Standing amongst the reeds listening to the deafening sound of hundreds of thousands of birds readying themselves to roost is quite wonderful.

In an instant they all take off together, filling the sky and swarming around as if part of a huge pre-defined dance troop. But then just as quickly they all land again and wait for the next act. A true wonder of the world if ever you have seen one!

An advert to remember

At this time of year, the usual battle for Xmas sales is well underway. Some of the better retail outlets will create fantastic adverts to tempt you in.

I have to mention the current John Lewis advert. Seldom do I see an advert, let alone watch it more than once. The current vogue for skipping adverts by watching recorded programmes will mean that television adverts become less effective, but this one is quite brilliant and I have to say it makes me smile every time I see it.

I am sure you have seen it but just in case you haven’t – look here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr6lr_VRsEo

We don’t have kids of our own or we would probably have a trampoline in our garden and possibly be able to watch our wildlife similarly.

Picture Round

This week the picture round features a small village not too far from us. It is beautiful year round, but particularly when we visited it in October. In the summer, it has a very large village fayre which is probably the best I have ever been to.

Have a great weekend!

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