We are staying in herself's sister's pad on the southern end of the Islington ridge. There's a sort of shrubbery below the balcony here, not at all extensive, hardly a decent suburban garden in size. We are just shouting distance from Sadlers Wells which is visible from the balcony. I've said this before, so if you've seen it, bear with me.
Last year there was a pair of foxes living in the shrubbery down there. On fine days they would emerge to lie in the sun. Today I saw three at the same time, sprawling and yawning. Two of them were pale, skinny and mangy-looking. If the other is a recent arrival it will soon catch whatever it is the others have got.
Perhaps it's starvation, or food poisoning from eating stuff out of bins. Last year there were squirrels to be seen, but I think the foxes have eaten them all because not one have I seen since we got here last night. Heard that happening once last year at night, and it was a sound to freeze your spine (mine anyway). I could hear the fox growling yum yum crunch crunch as the squirrel's frantic squeaks slowly died away. A lively imagination isn't always a blessing.
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We are on the edge of our town- fields to back and have foxes in the field. They make a circuit of our garden every night looking for scraps.. When we kept quails, dead one were tossed over the fence for them.
Wildlife is fun but you have to put up with the disadvantages. The badgers eat my strawberries (now in strong wire cages) and the woodpeckers have started attacking my hives - bee comb and young makes a tasty meal.
On the other had, it's nice to watch a peregrine catch a pigeon, cock it up, hit the garage door, let the pigeon go and stand 2 meters away blinking as it recovers before flying away. Or watch the buzzards circling 2000 meters above your head on a fine day..(I'm too big for them to eat:-)
Last edited by: madf on Wed 16 Jul 14 at 15:34
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>> Or watch the buzzards circling 2000 meters above your
>> head on a fine day..
>>
www.rspb.org.uk/advice/expert/previous/buzzard.aspx
Hard to spot a buzzard at 2000 metres, even if rarely they could perhaps fly that high?
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The hills where they nest are at least 300 meters higher than us and they operate in pairs.. or more.. Mind you I am guessing at height.. Could be 1000 meters for all I know...
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Or better still try YARDS. You know, the ENGLISH measurement. :-)
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>> Or better still try YARDS. You know, the ENGLISH measurement. :-)
The Imperial measurement for altitude/height is feet!!.
Buzzards were rare round here when we moved in 25 yrs ago but now it's unusual to NOT see one within a few minutes observation. Mostly in 250-500 feet range.
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I think in yards too. They aren't that much smaller than metres, nine-tenths or thereabouts. Inches are good too. Since you can easily measure thousandths with the right instrument why mess around with millimetres? And the centimetre is damn silly too, if Napoleon hadn't been pugnacious and undersized he would have let a centimetre be half an inch instead of just confusing the issue. He knew perfectly well what a pouce was.
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Back to the OP subject, sorry.
I was woken two or three times during last night by growling, howling and squealing outside, made by the damn foxes and perhaps by some of their victims... but just the foxes I think because there aren't any squirrels... perhaps a rabbit or two but I haven't seen any.
Foxes can be a bit noisy when they mate I think. Saw the two skinny pale jobs sprawling about knackered before we left. The fat brown one wasn't in evidence. Feeling offcolour perhaps.
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I should have said: We had them in the Grove too and they were hugely noisy. If you went out late at night they came out from the dustbins and gave you dirty looks even: Should you really be here squire?
They used to howl and bark in the night too. Unless that was the alcoholics, they sounded very alike sometimes. When one could hear them over the old internal monologue.
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I'm glad we came back here today although it took more than three hours and was awful.
The thunder has died down into the distance but a few minutes ago despite the cloudy sky there were numerous lightning bolts, and distant flashes, high and far off, over the South Downs but ten seconds away or more.
There were a few drops of rain, just a very few. But I wouldn't be surprised by a downpour later tonight. Distant rumbles now, very distant. Lying doggo I reckon.
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And of course, if the foxes make a clamour here, there's double glazing that shuts out most of that stuff. One can always leave the windows open if need be.
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It's rumbling away here too and I sit here with torch and candles ready as it's still dark!
The Fen electricity system doesn't like storms.
Pat
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We just had a half-hour power cut.
The other day there was a bloke in a van, very genial, with a white walrus moustache and a South African accent, rushing about looking at the power lines. Safety check he said.
Any connection one wonders?
You can't help putting two and two together and making anything up to about seventeen. Human nature.
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>> The other day there was a bloke in a van, very genial, with a white
>> walrus moustache and a South African accent, rushing about looking at the power lines.
That bloke with the walrus must itch is a very busy chap, he is also coach to the Italian rugby team and caddy to one of the golfers playing in The Open!
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We've had a power cut all day. The electrician came at 6 and I pointed out the seized, non-working trip that was causing the trouble.
I thought he would have a new one but he took the old one off and banged it on the wall with some violence, switched it on and off and bashed it a few more times until it worked perfectly, even the test trip button. While here he pointed out two cables that ought to have fuses and haven't as he stuffed them back in their contact holes.
Anyway communications are back. Feels odd without them, only a plug-in telephone instead of the wireless system and no internet. Mobile reception is very iffy here.
Daughter claimed to be embarrassed because I offered the geezer a drink and told him herself's card would be better than mine. She then wrote him a cheque, something I could have done. But I never offer anyone a Gregory these days because they usually don't want them. It's so annoying when the nippers jump in and act while one is still faffing.
Last edited by: Armel Coussine on Fri 18 Jul 14 at 18:52
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Wildlife: urban drift - madf
