Foxes and squirrels

Hi everybody, hope this finds you all well.

What a lovely weekend, woke up early on Saturday morning and running up the road with an air of determination was a sleek fox, nearly all ginger, unlike our other resident fox that is browner and patchier in colour.  He/she was eagerly running up the middle of the road, and then returned with a small bundle in it's mouth neatly wrapped in paper, looked just like it had come from the butchers/ fish and chip shop! We used to see a lot of foxes when we lived in rural Devon, and although a beautiful sight, though not always welcome especially when you have a lot of egg laying hens, and get used to clearing up after a fox.  I did not expect to see as many in welsh city living despite hearing about urban foxes, I often get up early and look to see if they are playing in the garden or running up the road, not such a threat now we have no hens.  I was reminded of a lesser known poem by A A Milne to share with you below.  Another sight to gladden the heart was the leftovers from the squirrels at the foot of one of our Austrian pines, a neat heap of spent horse-chestnut shells from next door's tree, now I know what they have been diligently burying all over the garden, we are nothing but a wildlife pantry here, and I love it.  If we as a nation/world think we have ownership of the land we have built our homes upon, then I think we need to reconsider, it seems we are merely stewards for the wildlife and their well-being.  Not a philosophy, just an observation. 

We also went to Llanelli for a walk along the coast path, below is a picture taken from the start of our walk, both of us feeling very privileged to have lived and walked on some of the countries most beautiful coastline in Devon, Cornwall and Wales.

The Three Foxes (Alan Alexander Milne)

Once upon a time there were three little foxes

Who didn’t wear stockings, and they didn’t wear sockses,

But they all had handkerchiefs to blow their noses,

And they kept their handkerchiefs in cardboard boxes.

And they lived in forest in three little houses,

And they didn’t wear coats, and they didn’t wear trousies.

They ran through the woods on their little bare tootsies,

And they played “Touch Last” with a family of mouses.

They didn’t go shopping in the High Street shopses,

But caught what they wanted in the woods and copses.

They all went fishing, and they caught three wormses,

They went out hunting, and they caught three wopses.

They wen to a Fair, and they all won prizes —

Tree plum-puddingses and three mince-pieses.

They rode on elephants and swang on swingses,

And hit three coco-nuts at coco-nut shieses.

That’s all I know of three little foxes

Who kept their handkerchiefs in three little boxes.

They lived in the forest in three little houses,

But they didn’t wear coats and they didn’t wear trousies,

And they didn’t wear stockings and they didn’t wear sockses. 

Bye for now and enjoy your day wherever in this wonderful world you are.  Speak to you again soon.