Last night, because my back was a little sore I decided to have an early bath, so there I was reading my book enjoying the bubbles and I heard a noise, on the top of the steps leading down to my bathroom was a robin (male!) standing watching me. So I got out dripping, grabbed my very old and tired towel and tried to catch it, not a chance, so as it flew out, down the hall and down the stairs, I decided to get less wet and catch it to let it out later. I knew there had been something in the house because there were bird droppings of the non raptorial kind in the downstairs loo, plus some rather interesting mud that I knew I had not been responsible for! I got dried and sat down on the bed to finish my chapter, but to no avail. Back he came into the bedroom, nosy little so and so! I gave up the unequal struggle and got dressed and spent about ten minutes trying to catch him without having to go for a net. Finally after several stubbed toes I got him and released him out of the bedroom window, I can only hope there was not a Tawny Owl waiting outside.

The oak tree in the field outside my office window positively glows in the morning and evening sun at the moment, the leaves are orange and against the emerald green of the grass and the blue sky it looks wonderful.

I have discovered that Sedge is a serious heat hogger when I light the fire he is literally almost in it, but now it is milder again and I really can’t justify lighting one (nice though it is!) he lies under my desk as close to the radiator as he can get!

I have been doing my favourite thing on and off today, which is achieving two things at once with one job. There is a large build up of soil where we used to have a staff gate from the car park, and because we are replacing the fence in the wall outside the café there is a dearth of soil where we have removed plants, so one is complimenting the other. And as I push my wheel barrow up and down, with help from Sedge which is not a problem and Rush which is rather more so, I can hear one of my favourite autumn/winter sounds, the plinking noise that our blackbirds make, it is a tremendously evocative noise………………


Its now dark, and the wind is hissing around the house, it’s a nice noise. Robin and I have just gone through the Zoo Inspection Pre Audit Form. I am not good at forms, firstly I rarely conform and so don’t fit the answers, secondly on this one you don’t get the chance if you fill it in on your computer to put more than so many words and thirdly I probably should not do it after having a large glass of sherry! My sense of humour comes more rapidly to the fore and some of the answers just beg to be put in a way that tomorrow I suspect I will have to change – shame really!

I had to go to Ross this afternoon as we are down to only one tin of dog food, and that will never do. So I went in the van (great!) and got 48 days worth of food and a new handle for the Mattock, also known as a pixie in Cornwall and quite my favourite tool, and a new wheelbarrow for feeding round – a dedicated wheelbarrow, not to be used for any other purpose! It was a successful trip