Meadowside.

The "meadow", this year, has not been home to horses.  Sadly for us, A's foals went straight from the farm to their new trailer with ne'er a backward glance.  In a previous year, other foals came to spend time with us - and to eat down the meadow!  So now the latter is a wilderness of goldenrod and little fir trees and even reed-like grasses which must map the line of an underground watercourse.

It looks very sad; rather messy and forlorn.

But it's home to a lot of passing birds - not much sign of the deer these last weeks.

And speaking of passing birds, not one but two skeins of  geese/swans flying south and calling today.  We first heard them (or their precursors - as we sat outside on the evening of the 30th or 31st.  There were more over this last weekend, but, as I said, two, big skeins today.  Fall is on its way for sure.  And strange variations in the temperature; 6 or 7 this morning; 16 - 20 in the shade at lunchtime - 35 in the full sun!  Figure that - as they say.

The (Ruby-throated) humming bird must be on the point of leaving; it came (heralded by an unmistakable HUMMMMMM - as distinctive as the sound of a Merlin engine) yesterday - about a week after I'd last seen it.  I was up the scaffolding and it hovered right in front of my face for a second or two.  The feeder's empty; doesn't do to keep them here.  They've a long way to fly to Mexico.

And speaking of "up the scaffolding" - the chipmunk's learned to climb the ladder whilst we're up there, in its ever-bustling search for peanuts.  Doesn't do to step back quickly, you might not miss it next time!  Ali lay in wait for it one time I was feeding it, and saw it disappear down its burrow in the wood.  They are cunning beasts; just like characters from "The Great Escape", they are known to dig long tunnels - up to two metres in the Chippy's case - and to disguise them by carrying the waste material, soil and so on, to another site!





People - Skype from them "Oooop Noarth" today - which was brilliant!  And calls from K & D - whose dog-walking kindness made Roxy's day!

Oh!  and  why "Meadowside!?  Because we've finished checking the Meadow-side wall!  Tada!

Oh - and the mouse is no more :-(