There is a great story by Arthur C Clarke. It involves two westerners visiting a Tibetan monastery where for hundreds of years, the monks have been engaged in cataloguing the nine billion names of God; when complete the world will end. They install a computer system to finish the task, without any belief that there […]

R went to replenish our seed store yesterday. I like him to carry the sacks as they weigh 25kg and are a bit much for me. We try to keep the nuts and seeds in canisters as the shed tends to be a bit damp, and also the growing rodent population in there tends to […]

Since I was a child I have loved an old Deed box which has been in the family for ages. I don’t know how old it is, but I would guess at least 150 years. My Mum gave it to me recently and it was in dire need of repair – there were water marks […]

For the first time since we have lived here we finally saw three badgers at the same time. I always knew there were more than two and in fact badgers must be doing well at the moment as one of our neighbours had five in their garden the other day. I think this is Mum, […]

I despair of our politically correct establishment which has now spread to our RAF who have decided to remove the name of a dog who was important as the mascot of the Dambusters and was called Nigger because he was black. Removing the name from the grave takes away from the memory of the brave […]

Not one single cherry left on the tree today. I have three fir trees at the bottom of the drive which have largely died off and come autumn I will pull them out and plant some walnuts which I think will be largely immune to birds.

Non amo te, imperia nostri, nec possum dicere quare. Hoc tantum possum dicere: non amo te. Actually I could say exactly why I don’t love any of the stupid, cowardly bunch. But I won’t.

The Jays which were largely absent last year have had a huge new brood. Not only are they devouring the fat balls and seeds, but they are methodically stripping my cherry tree. Every morning I look out and think that some of the cherries are nearly ripe enough to be picked, and every lunchtime any […]

There doesn’t seem to have been much cheer in the world of late (self-inflicted). So here is a poem written by our cats just before Schrodi died in honour of their Gran on Mothers’ Day. If anyone is interested in Victorian Poetry they might note that I think there is a degree of plagiarism involved. […]

I have been saving up Tora’s catches over the last two weeks and considering this “national crisis” I decided to make use of them. So with credit to Beatrix Potter, here is my recipe for Mouse and Bacon Pie. Take approx 20 assorted rodents – mice and voles are both good, but stay clear of […]