Chris and Bev – Heads in the Clouds

Every evening at about 10pm, Dulcie and I go for our final walk round the garden.  In recent nights these have been heavy with frost, almost daylight with a half moon illuminating everything from a clear, starry sky.  The frost glints like crystals shining on the cars and paths, sometimes we’ve seen shooting stars.  We often hear a tawny owl hooting from the trees round the garden, and less regularly, we hear a dog fox in the woods over Barn Hill barking to attract a mate and to proclaim his territory.  This is unusual because the large number of badgers round here would normally see off foxes, and it worries me that Dulcie might tangle with a badger one night, when she would definitely come worse off.  The dog fox has a bark that’s really eerie, even though I know what it is.  At the same time, we hear the vixen screaming that she is ready to mate, or indeed that she actually is mating.  We are getting used to being in the country at night, and seeing the dark skies and constellations of the Cranborne Chase.  Bev x

Solid progress on the renovations this week, with the west gate roof completed, the doorway through to next door rebuilt, and the oak pillars to the well-house now safely re-seated on greenstone plinths.

Dave and Lee, our saviours of the well-house!